Book excerpt: INTRODUCTION: No story of the sea has ever perplexed and fascinated men so strangely as the affair of the Mary Celeste. There is something about that conundrum of an empty ship, found in mid-ocean, with not a soul aboard and not a clue to explain what mischance had befallen her, which has never failed to draw to itself alike lovers of the sea and lovers of mysteries......Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.