Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Neither a convenient path to somewhere else, nor even particularly accessible, the British Isles have been spared much of the misery of other peoples' wars..." (more)
Key Phrases: Royal Navy, West Indies, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The life of an ordinary sailor in the 18th and 19th centuries was no easy matter, as Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin and C. S. Forester's Hornblower novels depict so well. Quite apart from the dangers from howling storms and whistling cannonballs, seamen were paid and fed poorly and subject to all manner of inhumane discipline. Given all that, Bernard Ireland wonders, how could it have been that sailors under English--and French, Spanish, and American--flags could have performed with such heroic distinction at sea?

His answer arrives at many points throughout his encyclopedic study of the "age when the man counted, and not the technology." Profiling such figures as John Paul Jones and Lord Nelson, as well as many of those ordinary sailors, and such little-known events as the siege of Acre and the War of Jenkins's Ear, Ireland provides a highly readable survey of the great age of sail-driven combat, when mighty navies traversed the world to secure empires for the great powers of two continents. He turns up dozens of illuminating oddments from the historical record, such as the Duke of Wellington's refusal to command England's forces during the War of 1812 and Napoleon Bonaparte's failure to coordinate his navy with his land forces, which contributed to his ultimate defeat. (A similar failure, Ireland writes, led to England's defeat in the American Revolution.)

Along the way, too, Ireland provides terminology and copious illustrations that will be useful to readers of the aforementioned O'Brian and Forester novels, for which this book makes a fine companion volume. --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal

Naval historians Miller (Theodore Roosevelt: A Life) and Ireland (History of Ships) have each compiled a work on the history of the sailing navy between 1756 and 1815, the great age of the fighting sail. Writing for the general reader, both authors provide a wealth of details on the wooden ships of that era. They describe the construction and operation of the vessels and the life of the crews who manned them, the careers of the officers, and how the ships were sailed and fought. Both authors invoke such names as Lord Nelson, John Paul Jones, Old Ironsides, and the Battle of Trafalgar, among othersDenough to make every old, new, and wannabe sailor's heart quicken. The Seven Years' War, the naval side of the American Revolution, the 22-year struggle between Napoleon and Britain, America's undeclared war with France, the Barbary pirates, and the War of 1812 are all covered. Although these books both cover essentially the same period of time, they are quite different. Miller describes the battles in great detail and concentrates more on tactics and strategy, while Ireland is concerned with descriptions of the ships and methods of sailing them. His work contains many illustrations by famed naval artist Tony Gibbons, who presents every type of sailing warship of the era. Libraries that want a comprehensive treatment of the era should order both books as they are complementary and worth having for naval history collections. Recommended for public and academic libraries.DStanley L. Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (October 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007629060
• ISBN-13: 978-0393049831
• ASIN: 0393049833
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #875,085 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great companion for lovers of nautical fiction, April 21, 2001

By	Neil R. Cronin (Exeter, NH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an extremely well illustrated and beautiful volume, accompanied by interesting text--shedding light on the ships, battles, and men of the "age of sail". Bernald Ireland has written widely on this period. If you enjoy C.S. Forrester, James Nelson, Marryat, Pope, O'Brien, etc. but are basically a landlubber, you need this book. The illustrations are fascinating and the boxed inserts on notable admirals, ships, battles are a nice touch.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid...Wonderful Art, February 19, 2002

By	Thomas Marshall Manson (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ireland's history is excellent. It covers all of the major points, and gives good insight into topics that rarely make a basic history. His commentary on the major battles, tactics, and personalities is excellent. His background chapter on the Royal Navy provides important instruction on sailing and naval vocabulary. However, wonderful art and illustrations really make the book special. All too often, excellent histories are undone because readers can't picture the events. Ireland solves that problem for us. Every page includes relevant illustrations. We see the ships; we see the men; our minds can build an accurate and detailed picture of the events. Given that, the absence of maps in strange and dissappointing. But that's about the only criticism I can level at this otherwise outstanding volume.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor graphic editing, March 5, 2002

By	Dr. Robert W. Warren (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews

I found this book appealing for the many color images presented of period paintings. The diagrams depicting the trim of the yards and sails during certain evolutions (e.g. tacking and boxhauling) also were informative.

Unfortunately, there are several inverted images. Examples include: p. 11 "Plymouth Dockyard" (Pocock); p. 135 "Admiral John Jervis" (John Hoppner); p. 196 "Forcing the Passage of the Sound 1807" (Robert Dodd); and p. 123 "Brunswick v. Vengeur 1794" (John Harvey).

I was also disappointed that the editors chose to split the image of "Howe on deck of Queen Charlotte" on pp. 132-3 across the page - Howe is bisected by the spine!

There were also some surprising technical errors. Unless many other sources are mistaken, Ireland's statement on p. 113 that a Sixth Rate was a commander's billet is problematic; all vessels that were "rated" were post ships and, thus, a post captain's command.

Although Hibernia (p. 185) certainly was enlarged relative to Ville de Paris 110, Hibernia was 'rated' at 110 guns, not 120 (citing Brian Lavery's "The Ship of the Line" and the Naval Chronicle. Of course, the relationship between rating and the actual number of guns was not precise. It is also interesting to compare the bows of Hibernia (p. 185) and Caledonia (p. 193); it appears that Caledonia does not exhibit the round bow, though in her draft (R. Gardiner - "Warships of the Napoleonic Wars," Naval Institute Press) the round bow is clearly indicated.

I found the book appealing from a visual perspective; if one is interested in finding quantitative detail regarding the ships of this period, other sources might be found more useful.