Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good as far as it goes, September 12, 2000
This review is from: Warships of the Napoleonic Era (Chatham Blueprint Series) (Hardcover)
This book provides a good quick summary of ship types of the Napoleonic era, including a brief summary of 'enemy' (i.e. non-British) warships of the period. While the ships plans shown are valuable in and of themselves, I found the cursory treatment of non-British warships to be rather annoying. Further, when presenting plans of non-British ships, they invariably (in the case of major combatants) showed the ships as they were fitted AFTER being taken into British service (i.e. captured) and not as originally built. While this may simply represent a limitation in the collections of historical plans available in Britain, it would have been beneficial if foreign collections had been examined for plans as well. Surely the collections in Paris, Cadiz, Amsterdam and elsewhere have extensive plans that might be included in such a book? Finally, I found the editing of this book to be execrable, with misprints and typographic errors rife throughout, and represents very shoddy work by the publishers and editing team. That said, the scarcity of non-British ship plans in the literature generally makes this book a useful addition to any Napoleonic naval literature collection
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent survey of the types of vessels used, January 31, 2000
This review is from: Warships of the Napoleonic Era (Chatham Blueprint Series) (Hardcover)
According to the book jacket, this book "reproduces original plans of all the principal types of warship employed during the Napoleonic Wars". The quality of these reproductions admittedly varies from ship to ship because of the condition of the original plans (in the files of the National Maritime Museum), but in general they quite clearly depict the hull forms and basic features of the warships in question. Perhaps two-thirds of the plans are from Bitish shipyards, while the rest are plans made from captured ships. Thus, a good representation of the ships of France, Spain, the United States, the Netherlands, and Denmark/Sweden is made, as well as those of the Royal Navy. The emphasis is on the development of types of vessels, rather than individual warships, and Gardiner provides an informative narrative to accompany the plans. While not a book for the casual general reader, it should be of great interest to the dedicated naval enthusiast.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Intricacies of Ship Design, June 24, 2000
This review is from: Warships of the Napoleonic Era (Chatham Blueprint Series) (Hardcover)
Robert Gardiner has done us all a great service with his series of books on the sailing navies, and the war in which they engaged. This book is no different and is a valuable addition to the series. It is a book of sailing ship plans of all the main, and some of the smaller, belligerents of the French Revolutionaly and Napoleonic Wars. It is somewhat on the line of Chappelle's superb History of the American Sailing Navy, although not as comprehensive. Still, it is scholarly, has Admiralty plans of dozens of warships, from the ship of the line, through frigates, sloops, and brigs, to the lowly bomb ketches. The narrative is authoritative, and the author knows his subject matter thoroughly. This is not a book about naval warfare per se; it is a book about ship design among the different belligerents. I didn't consider it one for pleasure reading, but more of a reference work that can be a great aid to researchers, modelers, and wargamers. This book is highly recommended, but it you're looking for a book that 'telleth of much fyte,' this is not it. For that I recommend others by Robert Gardiner such as his excellent Naval War of 1812. I am looking forward to his book on frigates, which will be a welcome addition to the genre.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
