Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815
by Nathan Miller
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Praise for BROADSIDES ""Pace the pitching black deck with a sleepless Admiral Nelson the night before battle bestows eternal rest and peerless immortality upon him; envision with Mahan the storm-tossed and ever-watchful ships-of-the-line that kept England secure from invasion; wonder in awe at Collingwood's dedication in working himself to death after Trafalgar elevated him to primary responsibility for England's imperial safety in the Mediterranean. All of this and more awaits the reader show more who will sail through these pages, every one of which is etched with the indelible expertise and boundless enthusiasm of Nathan Miller, master of naval history.""--Kenneth J. Hagan, Professor of History and Museum Director Emeritus, U.S. Naval Academy, Professor of Strategy, U.S. Naval War College ""This is not just inspired naval history--the personal lives of the seafarers themselves, from cabin boy to admiral, are given generous treatment.""--The Times (London) ""A wealth of detail...Descriptions of dreadful living conditions aboard cramped wooden vessels give way to bloody decks after close combat....A solid introduction to a turbulent era at sea.""--Publishers Weekly ""[As] a companion to the popular nautical novels of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian--it succeeds brilliantly.""--Daily Telegraph (London) ""The descriptions of the great sea commanders and their battles display all the craft of the gifted writer....Read Broadsides for enjoyment as a well-informed, action-packed naval narrative.""--The Christ Church Press show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Subtitled: "The Age of Fighting Sail 1775-1815", the book is a bit laborious. After reading Nathan's biography of Theodore Roosevelt, I expected something really special. That book gripped me, this one did not. I believe it to be a very good history of the subject matter but I guess I just don't have an interest in barbarism because that's what "fighting sail" is - barbaric. For me there is no romance in it.
Worthwhile overview. Can't rave about it; didn't hate it. A little more depth on the French and Spanish navies was in order. Owe to this book the discovery of Thomas Cochrane.
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Author Information
13 Works 1,444 Members
Nathan Miller is the author of thirteen books, He has been nominated five times for the Pulitzer Prize in history and biography, and his books have been assigned reading at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U. S. Naval War College, and the Naval Post-Graduate School. He lives in Washington, D.C.
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
- Important events
- Age of Sail (1775-1815); Georgian Era (1714-1837); American Revolution (1775-1783); Barbary Wars; Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815); Peninsular War (1807-1814) (show all 7); War of 1812 (1812-1815)
- Epigraph
- He that commands the sea is at great liberty, and may take as much and as little of the war as he will. Francis Bacon
- Dedication
- To Cassie and Pat Furgurson For Reasons Known to Us All
- First words
- Prologue: Fresh gales beinging squally weather and snow blustered up the River Medway in March 1771, and even in these sheltered waters the ships lying offshore swung uneasily at their anchors.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Npoleon concluded by saying: If it had not been for you English, I should have been emperor of the East; but wherever there was water to float a ship, we are to find you in our way!
- Original language
- English US
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 205
- Popularity
- 159,578
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 6
