Sailing Rigs

This lavishly illustrated book considers the sail plans that vessels have used during the past 250 years of western sailing. The author explores why sail plans have changed through the centuries, and how technological and practical limitations combined to lead, for example, Polynesians to build small, light crafts, while Europeans built massive, slow vessels. She presents the twelve most-common rigging-styles of the era in language that asks the reader not to be an expert, only keenly interested. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)