People have been fascinated by merpeople and merfolk since ancient times. From the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and the film Splash, myths, stories, and legends of half-human, half-fish creatures abound. In modern times “mermaiding” has gained popularity among cosplayers throughout the world. In Merpeople: A Human History, Vaughn Scribner traces the long history of mermaids and mermen, taking in a wide variety of sources and using 117 striking images. From film to philosophy, church halls to coffee houses, ancient myth to modern science, Scribner shows that mermaids and tritons are—and always have been—everywhere.

During thirty years of service in The United States Navy, Captain Bill Bruce had occasion to hear many, many stories from U.S. sailors, both officers and enlisted men. His favorite times were experienced while standing at duty stations, a place where a person is assigned to man during emergency periods. For Captain Bruce this was at his Battle Dressing Station. Captain Bruce’s duties carried him from Newport, R.I. to Annapolis to Washington, D.C, the latter being where he served President Kennedy and VP Lyndon Johnson. Most of his time was spent with the Pacific Fleet with tours aboard aircraft carriers, destroyer tenders and submarine tenders. His overseas shore duties included Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.

From popular TV correspondent and writer Rocca comes a charmingly irreverent and rigorously researched book that celebrates the dead people who made life worth living.