Paul Simpson has written another book about ships, life and voyages in the great days of sail. (The last was Around Cape Horn Once More, previously reviewed). This time he has told the story of the clipper Neptune’s Car, built … Continue reading
Category Archives: Book Reviews
In the 1920s and 30s quite a large number of retiring shipmasters who had started their careers in sail were writing their memoirs, while authors like Basil Lubbock, conscious that the days of commercial sail were effectively over, published popular … Continue reading
No navy has had so much written about it as the British Royal Navy. Every aspect: materiel, policy, strategy and performance in action has been described, dissected and analysed by many qualified and unqualified commentators. This is not surprising considering … Continue reading
Gary Staff is the author of numerous books about the Imperial German Navy, its ships and battles. This book describes the battle of Jutland (Skagerrak in German terminology) making use of official documents but much enlivened by the letters and … Continue reading
With the 100th anniversary of the battle of Jutland approaching, our distinguished late member William (Bill) Schliehauf decided it was time to re-examine the very controversial Naval Staff Appreciation of that great clash of the dreadnoughts that had occurred on … Continue reading
This impressive book by John Jordon and Jean Moulin provides a detailed technical description of all the cruisers of the Marine National that were built between the two world wars together with a brief account of their operational history. The … Continue reading
The book tells two stories. One is about undersea explorer Barry Clifford’s expeditions to Ile Sante-Marie off the eastern coast of Madagascar searching for the remains of Captain William Kidd’s ship, the Adventure Galley (Clifford was backed by TV’s Discovery … Continue reading
Nicolai Rezanov was a minor Russian aristocrat in the time of Catherine the Great and the Tsars Paul and Alexander I. (He was born in 1764). Like others of his class, he competed for honours and preferment at the court … Continue reading
This book by Halifax meteorologist Jerry Lockett combines scientific history with graphic descriptions of catastrophic events and a warning of what may happen in the future. It is in two parts. The first tells the history of the first tentative … Continue reading
Since the early years of the seventeenth century, figureheads have been a nearly universal feature of all except the smallest sailing warships and merchant ships. That includes ships built of iron and steel: any Tall Ship built today can be … Continue reading