<em>TheAmerican Practical Navigator, </em>firstpublished in 1802, was billed as the “epitome of navigation” by its originalauthor, Nathaniel Bowditch, an early American mathematician who is oftenconsidered the founder of modern maritime navigation. The text, often colloquiallyreferred to simply as “Bowditch,” has evolved with the advances in navigationpractices since that first issue and continues to serve as a valuable referencefor marine navigation in the modern day. In the more than 210 years since Bowditch firstpublished it, there have been an estimated million copies in print over thecourse of more than fifty editions. This latest edition—fully updated by theU.S. government to reorganize the topics, delete obsolete text, and incorporatethe extensive changes in navigation that have occurred in the electronic age—remainspopular with sailors of all types, is carried onboard every commissioned U.S.Navy vessel, and belongs in every navigator’s library. <p><em>TheAmerican Practical Navigator</em> describes indetail the principles and factors of navigation, including piloting, electronicnavigation, celestial navigation, mathematics, safety, oceanography, and marinemeteorology. It also contains a maritime glossary and dozens tables used intypical navigational calculations and solutions, including the formulas used toderive the tabular data. “Bowditch” is a must-have book for every mariner.</p>