Ongoing | Free
Join the South Street Seaport Museum for the recurring maritime-themed book club! Seaport Museum staff and special guests will stir up lively discussions informed by our shared love of literature, history, and preservation. Literary selections will be announced at least one month in advance. You can find information on upcoming book selections below.
The event is free. Preregistration is encouraged. You don’t have to read the full selection to enjoy the event; everyone is welcome!
Saturday, September 26, 12pm: Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
This month, the book club takes an unexpected and energetic look at world history via the humble cod fish. In this deceptively whimsical biography of a fish, New York Times best-selling author Mark Kurlansky brings a thousand years of human civilization into captivating focus.
As you read, discover how wars have been fought over cod, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies have depended on it, the settlement of North America was driven by it, and so much more.
At the end of the month, join Museum staff and fellow readers for a lively discussion on the covered quarterdeck of the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Access to Wavertree involves climbing a few stairs, walking up an angled gangway, and descending a few stairs onto the deck. Claim your space below.
Saturday, October 31, 12pm: All That Is Wicked: A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind by Kate Winkler Dawson
For spooky season, dive into the thrilling true-crime story of Edward Rulloff, a serial murderer once deemed “too intelligent to be killed.”
Expanded from the first season of her hit podcast, acclaimed crime historian, podcaster, and author Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of sources and never-before-shared historical documents to explore one of the earliest attempts to understand the mind of a serial killer—more than a century before the term was coined—and the scientists whose work would influence criminal justice for decades to come.
On Halloween, join Museum staff and fellow readers for a spirited discussion aboard the covered quarterdeck of the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Access to Wavertree involves climbing a few stairs, walking up an angled gangway, and descending a few stairs onto the deck. Claim your space below.
Enjoy More That the Museum Offers
Access to the historic ships and exhibitions on view is not included with your event ticket. If you would like to explore more that the Museum has to offer, book in advance or ask Museum staff about General Admission tickets when you check in.
General Admission brings you aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree and 1908 lightship Ambrose at Pier 16, and into both exhibitions on view in the first-floor Schermerhorn Row galleries at 12 Fulton Street. General Admission also sets you on course to explore Maritime City, the Museum’s immersive, three-floor exhibition at A.A. Thomson & Co., located at 213 Water Street.
Want to experience even more?
Reserve your tickets for the special exhibition The Promise of Liberty: Words That Shaped a Nation, on view this Summer! Book in advance and save with a discounted combo ticket that includes both General Admission and The Promise of Liberty.
Sailing season is here! Book your tickets today to enjoy an on-the-water adventure aboard the 1885 schooner Pioneer or the 1930 W.O. Decker.
Plan Your Visit
We look forward to welcoming you! Before your visit, please review the Visitor Guide and Frequently Asked Questions. You’ll find helpful information on ticketing and discounts, planning a family visit, directions and accessibility at each of our historic sites, the visitor code of conduct, what is and isn’t permitted across the Museum campus, tips for using technology during your visit, and more.
Previous Book Club Picks
July 2026: Golden Hill: A Novel of Old New York by Francis Spufford
April 2026: She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street by Paulina Bren
March 2026: The Last Pirate of New York by Rich Cohen
February 2026: Written in the Waters A Memoir of History, Home, and Belonging by Tara Roberts
October 2025: Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica’s Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton
August 2025: The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine by Janice P. Nimura
June 2025: The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss by Margalit Fox
April 2025: When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age by Justin Kaplan
March 2025: Nineteen Reservoirs: On Their Creation and the Promise of Water for New York City by Lucy Sante
February 2025: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
January 2025: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
November 2024: Native New Yorkers: The Legacy of the Algonquin People of New York by Evan T. Pritchard
October 2024: The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice by Alex Hortis
August 2024: The Waterworks by E. L. Doctorow
July 2024: Remarkable Creatures: A Novel by Tracy Chevalier
April 2024:Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America by Leila Philip
March 2024: The Mad Girls of New York: A Nellie Bly Novel by Maya Rodale
February 2024: Here is New York by E. B. White
January 2024: Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel
November 2023:Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
October 2023: Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus
September 2023: Manhattan Beach: A Novel by Jennifer Egan
June 2023: The Engineer’s Wife: A Novel of the Brooklyn Bridge by Tracey Enerson Wood
April 2023:As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
March 2023: The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky
February 2023: Soldier, Sailor, Spy: The Story of a Black American Loyalist by Charles Hoffmire
January 2023: Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants by Robert Sullivan
October 2022: Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell
September 2022: Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift by Jessica DuLong
August 2022: Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older
July 2022: The Lost Endeavour by John Masefield
Ready for more?
Head over to our Programs and Events page to see what else is happening at the Museum. Sign up for an upcoming talk, learn more about visiting Wavertree, or explore our virtual offerings.