A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron over Wood [Paperback]

John V. Quarstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2007

The Battle of Hampton Roads was one of history's greatest naval engagements. Over the course of two days in March 1862, this Civil War conflict decided the fate of all the world's navies. It was the first battle between ionclad warships, and the 25,000 sailors, soldiers and civilians who witnessed the battle knew then what history would soon confirm: wars waged on the seas would never be the same. This landmark book documents the dramatic history of Civil War ironclads and reveals how ironclad warships revolutionized naval warfare. Author John V. Quarstein explores in depth the impact of ironclads during the Civil War and their colossal effect on naval history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John V. Quarstein is an award-winning author and historian. He is director of the Virginia War Museum in Newport News and chief historical advisor for The Mariners' Museum's new USS Monitor Center (opening March 2007). Quarstein has authored eleven books and dozens of articles on American, military and Civil War history, and has appeared in documentaries for PBS, BBC, The History Channel and Discovery Channel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (February 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596291184
• ISBN-13: 978-1596291188
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,006,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most complete story of Civil War Ironclads, March 10, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron over Wood (Paperback)

The story of the battle between the USS Monitor and the Merrimack (CSS Virginia) at the Battle of Hampton Roads is well known as the battle where iron armored ships signaled the end of the era of wooden ships. From this battle on, ships would be made of iron (and later steel) with their guns mounted in turrets would rule the waves until they too met their match at places like Pearl Harbor.

But as usually happens with technology, there are few secrets. The engineers in the North and the South began developing ironclads, as well as more effective canon and shells.

This excellent book gives the overall history of the ironclads on both sides. This includes the river fleet under Grant in his battles on the western rivers as well as the ones in the east. In two appendicies, the author lists 34 named Confederate ironclads (six more were started but never named), and 83 Union (some of which were so bad that they while they were built, they were never commissioned into the Navy).

The book concentrates on the ironclads of the American Civil War, as this was the time when they were being invented and first used. It uses an interesting format of a chronological history combined with essays discussing some particular point of interest. There is some additional material at the beginning and end of the book on earlier and later activities to place the Civil War into some perspective.

All in all, a well researched book that provides a more complete story than I've seen before.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars very disappointed - lacking in details., December 12, 2009

By 

yousers352 "yousers352" (Philly, PA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron over Wood (Paperback)

I'm not a hardcore naval history buff, but I found this book to be extremely disappointing (returned it the next day). It's more of brief (very, very, very brief) history of ironclads in a chronological format, without any meat or details to it (3-4 sentences each??). Had I known it was so thin on historical details, I definitely would not have purchased this product. It would have been nice to pick a few of the more interesting ironclads in the period and give it some more substance. I normally do not write product reviews (who has the time?), but this product left a lot to be desired. Anyway, sorry to give a negative review...