Even though I'm not one for exploring the depths of the ocean, there's something about the romance of ships and the tragic stories of when they've been lost that does lure me in. 

And of course there's the mystery - what led to their catastrophe, who were the people who succumbed, why do many still risk their lives in order to salvage possessions and materials decayed by time and sea?

This is a book full of riches - stunning illustrations and incredible stories from 50 shipwrecks, just a fraction of the millions there are all over the world.

There are some familiar names here - the Mary Rose and the Titanic, of course. There's the SS Gairsoppa which sank in just twenty minutes. HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were trapped in ice before sinking in Arctic Waters in 1848. And a deadly explosion thwarted the SS Sultana on the Mississippi River. 

Aimed at readers aged seven upwards, the book has an introduction from a fictional marine archaeologist saying how she became interested in the sea, after her father, and inviting us to ponder over the pages that follow, jottings from her notebook. 

She tells us how 80 per cent of our oceans are unexplored and unmapped, how may of the wrecks are crime scenes or graves, and how looking back on these historical ships we need to acknowledge their difficult past, linked to colonialism, war or enslavement. Shipwrecks need to be investigated responsibly and respectfully, she says. 

A beautiful and fascinating book that's likely to provide hours of intrigue, entertainment and delight, no doubt igniting further interest and investigation.