Customer Reviews

The Line of Battle: The Sailing Warship 1650-1840 (Conway's History of the Ship)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was delighted by this book. Each chapter is an artcile on a aspect of the sailing warship. The book restricts itself to the years 1650-1840, this being the time period where sail, not oars nor steam, was the predominant motive force for ships. It is also limited in scope to ships used in war. This ranges from the large 100+ gun ships down to ship tenders and hulks.

The first several chapters focus on the size, rigging, and use of different classes of ships. Later chapters give a pleasantly simple account of how sailing works, the tactics used in a battle where the guns are slow to load and the wind and tide have a pronounced effect on the combatants, the decoration on the ships, details of the fittings, and more.

This was a more scholarly work than the cover would imply. There is a wealth of good figures, with numerous photographs of period models. Aside from a few typrographic errors, the text is well written and clear.

When I first bought this book almost 15 years ago, I little realised what a valuable companion it would turn out to be. While each of the subjects dealt with (rigging, ship types, etc) is necessarily brief, nevertheless, it is learned and to the point. More importantly, it allows the reader to determine specifically what kinds of information is of the most interest, which can then be used with the splendid bibliography to get more detailed information about that particular subject. While some may complain that it is TOO brief, it is important to remember that to discuss these subjects in FULL detail would require a truly monumental volume costing thousands (Jean Boudriot's magnificent four-volume work just on the 74-gun ship is a good example!). In sum, the wide range of information provided (and not just 'from a British point of view' either, as there is a fair bit on French and Dutch ship-building as well), the detailed artwork used for illustration, and the quality index and bibliography, not to mention the extremely reasonable price, make this a fine addition to any library.

I am a Patrick O'Brian fan and I have searched for more information about the world he describess in his novels.
This book is the first one with exhaustive plans and technical data, and also a good history of the sail balttleships themselves.
A real technical book, heavy to read but a good reference books for modellers.
I only miss more plans and data of spanish ships, even the captured ones like the HMS San Juan...

Excellent book on the construction, arming and sailing of the square-rigged sailing warship.

Interesting book about ships from the age of sail, every type gets a turn with some historical stories/battles. Also a nice start of you want to know how ships of sail are working and learning the terms of the sail era. Only one side point most information is dated and should be taken in mind that research brought the historians of today on a higher level of understanding of the ships of sails era (the use and building technic)