Finding another realm as lively with lore as the ship world is almost an impossibility. The myriad rules of the ocean, and the hallowed myths, and how ships greet one another, and how the crew ...

THE SAND PEBBLES (597 pp.)—Richard McKenna—Harper & Row ($5.95). “Hello Ship,” Jake Holman whispers reverently to the U.S.S. San Pablo the first time he reports aboard. His new Navy messmates fondly ...