In conclusion

In this last look at the maritime books in The Guardian's top ten series, I have quite a few lists for you, and have barely scratched the surface. How many lists are there at The Guardian's top ten series site? As of this writing, 270. That's a lot of reading. The lists below, published from 2003 back to the beginning of the series, contain a lot of the usual suspects, but also some surprises:

• Jude Fisher's top ten tales of adventure has a lot of maritime books, including one in a genre not often represented in the maritime world, fantasy. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb is a fun read, and unusual for setting merchant shipping in a magical world. Ever think your ship is actually intelligent? Then you need to read this book and check out the rest of Fisher's recommendations.
  
• Peter F. Steven's top ten nautical books contains titles that will probably be familiar to most MaritimeCompass readers, but the book at the no.1 spot is worth mentioning: Armada by Garrett Mattingly is a must-read for anyone interesting in the history of ships, shipping, or naval developments. Wonder why merchant ships of the 19th century look as they do? This book actually explains it. The period of the Armada was pivotal for shipbuilding, and if you think naval architecture is a dry subject, then this is the book that will make it come alive.
  
• Martin Gorst's top ten books on science contains many titles of interest to maritime readers, covering math, Darwin, and astronomy.
  

And their lists will keep coming--if this has whetted your appetite, go to the Guardian's main top tens site and add it to your rss reader. And explore the rest of the site--they have great content, for free, including Ten top sea kayaking destinations, if you need to fit in a trip before the summer's over!