Admirals [Hardcover]

Andrew Lambert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 18, 2008

From the man described by Amanda Foreman as 'one of the most eminent naval historians of our age' comes the story of how this country's maritime power helped Britain gain unparalleled dominance of the world's economy. Told through the lives of ten of our most remarkable admirals, Andrew Lambert's book spans Elizabethan times to the Second World War, culminating with the spirit which led Andrew Browne Cunningham famously to declare, when the army feared he would lose too many ships, 'it takes three years to build a ship; it takes three centuries to build a tradition'.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A riveting account of the men who built Britain’s astounding fighting force on the seas. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Andrew Lambert is Professor of Naval History at King's College, London, and has been described as 'the outstanding British naval historian of his generation' (David Cannadine). His books include Trincomalee: The Last of Nelson's Frigates and The Foundations of Naval History, and his highly successful history of the British Navy, War at Sea, was broadcast on BBC2.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (September 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057123156X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571231560
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,115,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep and instructive studies of 11 British admirals, March 31, 2010

By 

T. D. Welsh (Basingstoke, Hampshire UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Admirals (Hardcover)

Even enthusiastic students of naval warfare may not be familiar with all 11 admirals featured in this fascinating and most instructive book. They range from Lord Howard of Effingham, who led the English fleet against the Spanish Armada, to Andrew Cunningham ("ABC" to his men), the mainspring of the Royal Navy's struggle against Italian and German forces in the Mediterranean during WW2. The others are Robert Blake, James Duke of York (later King James II), George Anson, Samuel Hood, John Jervis (better known as Earl St Vincent), William Parker, Geoffrey Hornby, John Fisher, and David Beatty. If some great names such as Nelson and Jellicoe are missing, it is because they have already been written about in scores of books. In Andrew Lambert's own words, "This study charts how the art of naval command has evolved within a single organisation over a period of four hundred years"; and the specific men on whom it focuses were chosen as the best examples with which to illustrate that evolution. Before Howard there was hardly such a thing as an admiral, while today most decisions are directed from distant control centres on land.

Lambert's style is forceful and witty, as when he remarks that "The Royal Navy was never perfect... but it has always been able to recover from setbacks to emerge victorious, even against such recent foes as the Treasury and the Royal Air Force". He explains how, before Charles Howard, there was hardly any system or discipline at all in sea fighting; and even during the battle against the Armada, he was the only real professional while tearaways like Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher were all too often concerned only with their own enrichment or fame. Blake extended military discipline to the Navy, and even won battles against the Dutch - although they gave as good as they got. One of the book's biggest surprises is the revelation that James Stuart, Duke of York, was an excellent admiral who was brave, resolute, and skilful in battle. Leading over 100 warships in his very first naval engagement, he pressed the Dutch flagship so close that frightful carnage ensued. A chain shot decapitated the Earl of Falmouth standing beside him, "and left James covered in blood and brains, with a piece of Falmouth's skull driven into his hand. James remained every inch the Prince: he did not flinch. He also behaved like an admiral..."

Anson, born in 1697, was the first fully professional officer to become the Navy's senior admiral; not only did he give the French a wretched time at sea, he built up a resilient political power base and even revolutionised the design of warships. Hood and Jervis, two of Anson's proteges, were to carry the sea war to Napoleon; and Nelson, the greatest of them all, was in his turn a favourite disciple of Hood. In the 19th century Parker and Hornby saw the Royal Navy through long years of peace and, in the case of Hornby, oversaw the troublesome transition to steam-propelled iron and steel ships. Then Fisher ushered in the age of modern naval warfare, with his understanding of the new mines and torpedoes, and his introduction of the battlecruiser. It is all too easy to see David Beatty as the villain of the Dogger Bank and Jutland, yet as Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord he did a lot of good, too. Which brings us to Cunningham, the man who commanded British fleets through some of the worst days they had ever seen. Although it broke his heart to see his ships sunk and men under his command killed while evacuating the Army's "pongos" from Greece and Crete, he insisted that it had to be done with the famous words, "You can build a new ship in three years but you can't rebuild a reputation in under three hundred years".

This review is already too long and detailed, but it has only scratched the surface of this magnificent book (Alan Mallinson's adjective). Anyone who is interested in the art of naval warfare will find it deeply engrossing and highly instructive.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does much to explain how the Royal Navy evolved, June 29, 2011

By 

Donald Hammond - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Admirals (Kindle Edition)

I went to Kindle e-books military fiction and found this book. Once I startd it I realised that it was not fiction at all in fact it is one of the most detailed and reserached books I have read. The use of the ten men the author covers explains much on how the Royal Navy developed from a quickly put togeather group of men and ships facing the Spanish Armada into the formidable force it became by the end of the 19th century. As a fan of C.S.Forester I can really now understand what he was saying in the Hornblower series as it too follows the changes that took place within the fleet. The author does not paint these Admirals as perfect but rather shows their strengths and weaknesses and how they often had to fight not only the enemy but their politicans at home. Since WWII is what I am most interested in I found his coverage of Admiral Cunningham outstanding. In that context the author shows that Winston Churchill was not as great a leader as he has painted himself. The author uses extensive footnotes to support his position throughout the book for each Admiral he covers. I really enjoyed the book and recommed it to anyone realy interested in the Royal Navy.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a surprisingly impressive book, April 3, 2011

By 

Andy Watkins "(Captain Kremmen)" (Reading, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Admirals (Hardcover)

Just a quick note to say this book is very impressive. I have read many many hundreds of historical non fictiion books and only a few really stick in my mind as exceptional. This is one of those books. Extremely well done. Anyone with an interest in the naval history of Britain should read this book, it is very readable and quite fascinating.