Customer Reviews

Nelson's Navy

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

 

 

Required reading for all sea-lovers
What a great book! I wish I'd read it before I started reading any naval fiction (or fact, for that matter).
Not as detailed as Dr.Roger's 'Wooden World' but much more readable, with lots of snippets of info and descriptions of procedures that are taken for granted in most books - like 'what is a messenger and how is it used?' - most buffs have a vague idea, but not in the detail that is shown here.
The text is lively, flows logically from one subject to an allied one, keeping one interested as one is taken through the construction, manning and working of the ship. Then we are treated to remarkably un-jingoistic descriptions of the famous battles of the Napoleonic era, with blow-by-blow diagrams showing the positions of the opposing fleets throughout the action.
My only complaint is that not quite enough space is given to shipboard life, and a little too much praise is heaped on Nelson (after all, that's what Nelson expects....) but not a mention of Cochrane, whose tactics, gung-ho zeal and inventiveness were the epitome of what a fighting captain should be (at least, in the eyes of the public - and Patrick O'Brien).
However, a damned good show

This is a very good book on the Royal Navy at the time of Nelson. The name is a bit misleading, as it concerns battles other than only Nelson's. The book starts out with the usual introduction to ships, e.g. ratings, construction, etc. However, it discusses things that I hadn't picked up in some other books. For example, there are detailed discussions on how pumps work, how the large anchor ropes were reeled in, compass headings, tacking and wearing, and so on. The section on tacking and wearing set the table for the later discussions of the battles-ships were `stuck in the mud' if a battle and the wind were behind them. The brilliance of the British tactic of attacking the middle and rear of the enemy line becomes crystal clear. I particularly enjoyed this book for several reasons. First, it was easily readable. Some things were rather technical, but for the most part, I moved quickly through the text. I also enjoyed the maps of the battles. Without those, the discussions of the movements of the ships would have been meaningless. The maps made everything understandable. In addition to chapters on the most famous battles, there is a chapter on lesser-known actions. This was icing on the cake. When I was finished reading this book I felt like I had really learned a lot about the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic period. I highly recommend this book.

From 1793 to 1815, Great Britain was locked in a titanic struggle with France - first Revolutionary France, then with Napoleonic France. At the beginning of the struggle, the British Navy was slack in its duties and often missed opportunities to deny the French access to the world's oceans. As the struggle wore on, however, the British quickly learned their lessons, and soon built a navy that dominated the oceans for more than one hundred years. This is the story of the British Navy and their experiences in the Napoleonic Wars.

Overall, I found this to be a very good book. It is a bit on the dry side, but nonetheless it is a great book that ably covers the British ships and naval doctrine, and shows how they developed and what they did. If you want to understand the rise of the British Navy, or just read about the maritime side of the Napoleonic Wars, then this is the book for you.