Read: "Lords of the Sea" and the Story of the World's First Dominant Navy

Before the Roman navy made the Mediterranean Sea their lake and before the British navy ruled the waves around the globe, the Athenian navy underpinned a maritime empire.  I'm checking out Lords of the Sea by archaeologist John R. Hale (Penguin, 2010).  Does it have anything at all to do with my own schoolwork?  Nope!  And I don't care.  Triremes are cool.  They're even cooler when some crazy history buffs and archaeologists re-create one and sail it around!