Michael Baizerman Author

 Chapter 1 of my third manuscript, " The Fright and Thrill of Navigation:  Seafaring in the Medieval and the Renaissance Mediterranean", is over. At least, its the first draft. I have erased most of the obvious errors with the aid of Grammarly. I am considering hiring its Premium version to become a better writer.  This chapter compares and contrasts the two medieval and renaissance watercraft types in the Mediterranean considering their functions, navigation, and more. I also added about 60 notes and two illustrations:   The first is a  fourteenth-century lateen-rigged Byzantine galley, whereas the second is  a ninth-century Byzantine ship sporting a settee sail.  The paper needs time to "dry up". It might endure some further corrections and require a fresh look. Meanwhile, I have started collecting material for the second chapter. It will focus on warships and comprise several parts. For example, the development of gunpowder ordnance on board. 

 T he maiden chapter of a new project is nearly over. I will carry out the content editing at a later stage. Yet, I need to review the vocabulary section created for the extract to fish for novel ideas.  The chapter gives a general idea of medieval shipping in the Mediterranean by depicting two broad types of watercraft. Even at this initial stage, I make use of contemporary travelogues written mostly by landlubbers. Besides galleys and round ships, I will speak about the main developments in the construction of ships and the sailors' diet.  In the coming week, I am planning to revise an old article, The Ten Tribes and Other Monsters, from Unit IV of my second project, "The Enchanting Encounter with the East". Authorhouse UK is preparing this manuscript for publication. I wrote a few more letters asking for reusing of photos as book illustrations but meanwhile received only three positive replies. I hope that in some other cases the images do not require copyright permiss...

 The artist sent me his proposal for the book cover. Though I cannot copy it, I will give you the general idea. There are two photos: a man climbing a steep mountain slope and another one walking along a suspension bridge. Both shots are taken in the backdrop of a "wild" environment.   I continue to write letters to the owners of the images asking for permission to use them as the book illustrations. Until now, I have received three of them: from the British Library for the Psalter Mappa Mundi, from the University of Glasgow Library for an image from  Vox Clamantis of John Gower, and from the  Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America for  Henrich Bunting's map of the world as a cloverleaf.  In several cases, I was unable to find the owner. I still don't quite understand the meaning of these inquiries that I had to write at the insistence of the publishing house. In most cases, the copyright expires after 70 years. All my images have far exceeded ...

  Authorhouse UK, the self-publishing company that printed my first book, "Dawn and Sunset: A Tale of the Oldest Cities in the Near East", has offered to issue my second volume. Heaven knows, I did a lot to avoid this chance. Meanwhile, I have found no traditional publisher that is enthusiastic about bringing out my composition. Since I had no alternative, I finally agreed.  I did my best, revising the entire text again. I added several images though I am not sure that they will accompany the text. My literary consultant said that I need to ask permission from the owners of the photos even though most of my artwork is borrowed from  Wikipedia. I wrote several letters but received only one permission, from the British Library concerning the Psalter Mappa Mundi, where Jesus blesses the earth.  In the following weeks, you will catch a glimpse of my second book. It is titled, " The Enchanting Encounter with the East: Breaking the Ice between the Latin West and the F...