This is the best selling boating-book ever. 1,000,000 copies sold over 200 years.Everything a marine navigator could possibly need to know. 2011 Edition: Updated by National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. USA Government Publication.Although it appears intimidating, it's actually quite readable. It happens also to be the very pinnacle of all marine navigation guides; all others refer to it and every professional and serious navigator/pilot does own a copy.It's enormous in both physical volume and weight. 885 pages.36 Chapters and 36 associated mathamatical documents:PART 1 - FUNDAMENTALSCHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION TO MARINE NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 2. GEODESY AND DATUMS IN NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 3. NAUTICAL CHARTS.CHAPTER 4. NAUTICAL PUBLICATIONSPART 2 - PILOTINGCHAPTER 5. SHORT RANGE AIDS TO NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 6. COMPASSES.CHAPTER 7. DEAD RECKONING.CHAPTER 8. PILOTING.CHAPTER 9. TIDES AND TIDAL CURRENTS.PART 3 - ELECTRONIC NAVIGATIONCHAPTER 10. RADIO WAVES.CHAPTER 11. SATELLITE NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 12. LORAN NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 13. RADAR NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 14. ELECTRONIC CHARTS.PART 4 - CELESTIAL NAVIGATIONCHAPTER 15. NAVIGATIONAL ASTRONOMY.CHAPTER 16. INSTRUMENTS FOR CELESTIAL NAVIGATION.CHAPTER 17. AZIMUTHS AND AMPLITUDES.CHAPTER 18. TIME.CHAPTER 19. THE ALMANACS.CHAPTER 20. SIGHT REDUCTION.PART 5 - NAVIGATIONAL MATHEMATICSCHAPTER 21. NAVIGATIONAL MATHEMATICS.CHAPTER 22. CALCULATIONS AND CONVERSIONS.CHAPTER 23. NAVIGATIONAL ERRORS.CHAPTER 24. THE SAILINGS.PART 6 - NAVIGATIONAL SAFETYCHAPTER 25. NAVIGATION PROCESSES.CHAPTER 26. EMERGENCY NAVIGATIONCHAPTER 27. NAVIGATION REGULATIONS.CHAPTER 28. MARITIME SAFETY SYSTEMS.CHAPTER 29. HYDROGRAPHY.PART 7 - OCEANOGRAPHYCHAPTER 30. THE OCEANS.CHAPTER 31. OCEAN CURRENTS.CHAPTER 32. WAVES, BREAKERS AND SURF.CHAPTER 33. ICE NAVIGATION.PART 8 - MARINE METEOROLOGYCHAPTER 34. WEATHER ELEMENTS.CHAPTER 35. TROPICAL CYCLONES.CHAPTER 36. WEATHER OBSERVATIONS.CHAPTER 37. WEATHER ROUTING.NAVIGATION TABLES