In line with this week's theme, what are some good books on port cities that i can read up on to get a brief summary on the historiography of shipping?
Cheers
That's such a massive question (or historiography for that matter), that you're gonna have to specify some more before I can help you.
Are you interested in the ships themselves, trade, offshore industries or something else? Any particular time period or part of the world? Possibly social issues, strikes or labor relations? Economic history? Gender, technological, or demographic history? Quantitative or qualitative history? =)
"Venice: A Maritime Republic" by Frederic C. Lane is a good read about understanding the port city.
It covers a lot of what Venice was involved in, from city structure, to trade practices, to economy, to civilization and politics in Venetian society.