To attempt to describe within limits of one book the whole evolution of the ship from the days of her crude beginnings and limited utility to the present time, when she has become so essential a feature of modern life, may seem to be an ambitious scheme. The term ship denotes so much, and includes so many different types, that it would be utterly impossible to deal with the subject fully in any single book of moderate dimensions, and for all but a few readers such a volume would be not only too large, but too technical. - Summary Adapted from the Preface