Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders (Military Blunders) [Paperback]

Geoffrey Regan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Military Blunders | Publication Date: August 1, 2000

Geoffrey Regan presents a fascinating catalog of naval incompetence throughout history, from Roman times to the Gulf War. Crammed with the intriguing and the bizarre and embellished with fifty illustrations, Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders is a serious but entertaining look at the follies and misjudgments-and sometimes the bad luck-of captains, fleet commanders, strategic planners, and ship designers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Geoffrey Regan is the author of more than twenty books of military history and served as a consultant on the Great Blunders television series. He lives in England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc. (August 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574882538
• ISBN-13: 978-1574882537
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,141,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From circular warships to sheer incompetence - it's all here., July 2, 2004

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders (Military Blunders) (Paperback)

Geoffrey Regan is described as "Britain's premier authority on military disasters" and, with the word "Blunders" in several of the titles of his previous books, he is certainly well qualified to provide an accurate account of those that are part of the world's naval history.

"The Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders" is a soft cover book measuring 9¾" x 7½" containing 182 pages of detailed information on various historic naval encounters from around the world. There is a good selection of supporting B&W photographs throughout. In an easy-to-read style of writing - and following a two-page introduction, the author commences with an account of the 18,000 mile journey of the Russian Fleet in 1905 and how two-thirds of that fleet were lost when they finally came up against the Japanese. Likening some of those involved to the Marx Brothers is an apt comparison and a good indication of what is to follow.

Part I of the book is then divided in chapters headed "Lunatic Admirals" - in which we are treated to no fewer than 16 excellent tales to fit that particular heading, "Tale of a Tub" - 10 instances of ship design ranging from a circular battleship to vessels that torpedoed themselves, "The Price of Admiralty" - where all the ultimate life-costing decisions are made by the governments and civil-servants-in-uniform of the day, "A Life on the Ocean Wave" - 6 tales of life aboard ship, "Above us the Waves" - various tales of submarine design left wanting (including the dreadful K-class) and "That Sinking Feeling" - recounting the loss of several well known vessels including the Mary Rose and HMS Vanguard.

Part II is simply headed "Case Studies" and is exactly that, the case studies of 22 important naval battles ranging from Drepana in 250 BC to Leyte Gulf in 1944. Whilst I had not previously heard of Drepana - I never realised how Leyte Gulf was such a close-run thing.

Altogether, this is a fascinating book, an excellent read and the answer to an awful lot of questions about naval warfare in general, the outcome of several naval engagements in particular and the fate of certain specific ships..

NM

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange selection, October 20, 2009

By 

Rafael Requeni Barcos (Valencia, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders (Military Blunders) (Paperback)

While the book goes the same way than the rest in the "blunder" series, the cases studied are far shorter (and thus less thoroughly explained) and the stories Regan has picked may be a little bit surprising, since none of the most known naval blunders in History doesn't appear in it (Actium, the Invincible Armada, the expedition to Cartagena de Indias in 1739...)

3.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of stories but no analysis underlying them..., September 7, 2009

By 

Yoda (Hadera, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brassey's Book of Naval Blunders (Military Blunders) (Paperback)

This book has a considerable number of stories regarding naval blunders. Most are quite amusing and entertaining. If your goal is this, the book would be a five star. However, if you are looking for an analysis underlying the so-called blunders you will be dissappointed as the author provides very little in the way of analysis (either of the individual stories or any underlying themes as a group). A conclusion providing such a discussion in either the individual stories or the end of the book would have been useful.