Two Years on the Alabama: A Firsthand Account of the Daring Exploits of the Infamous Confederate Raider [Paperback]

Arthur Sinclair (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Waterlow Co (November 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972042830
• ISBN-13: 978-0972042833
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,656,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read, July 27, 2004

By 

Marjorie Hall "Marjorie Hall, author" (NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Two Years on the Alabama: A Firsthand Account of the Daring Exploits of the Infamous Confederate Raider (Paperback)

TWO YEARS is an extraordinary first-person account of some of the most exciting naval history in the civil war. Filled with drama and action, this book grips the reader from page one. Although it would have been helpful if the editors had included a glossary of slang from that era, the book is easily read and understood despite being an historical account.

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Fiction!, January 23, 2009

By 

Bookish Tart (Roswell, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Years on the Alabama: A Firsthand Account of the Daring Exploits of the Infamous Confederate Raider (Paperback)

The best read for Civil War Nuts who want to read about the Naval experience during rhe Civil War from the point of view of a sailor serving on the "Alabama", the most successful raider of the Confederate navy.

I became interested in this book when I realized James Dunwoody Bulloch, President Davis's agent, has a family connection to my hometown of Roswell, Georgia. Bulloch commissioned the "Alabama" from Liverpool shipbuilders. The "Alabama sailed around the world, raiding Northern ships of commerce and drawing Union ships away from their efforts to blockade the South.

Sinclair describes some adventures in a sailor's life, including the ship's escape from England, a battle with a Union ship off Galveston and finally, the early death of the Alabama when she engaged the Union ship "Kearsarge" off Cherburg, France as approximately 15,000 spectators watched from shore. The Alabama sank, taking 21 souls with her, but most of her crew, including the ship's officers were rescued by sympathetic Englishmen in private boats, taken ashore and feted in local pubs.

This book would make an excellent movie. It is a bit dodgy to read, since it is a memoir, but as a first person account it is an exceptional read.