BookPick Category
Bookpick: Seven Selections for Santa’s Sack
Posted on December 4, 2018 5 Comments
I’m a bit of a bah humbug creature when it comes to the commercialisation of Christmas – but there’s one thing that I fervently believe: a book is a present that, if well chosen for the recipient, will give hours of pleasure and be a lasting reminder in itself of someone putting thought, not just […]
BookPick: Salty Memoirs
Posted on October 12, 2018 1 Comment
This Autumn Selection brings together a collection of true life nautical adventures, both above and below the waves. There’s a diving trilogy, one woman’s 18,000 mile epic journey of self discovery across the Atlantic and back – and a poignant portrayal of life at sea and ashore in the 1900s. Delightful reads for both arm-chair […]
BookPick
Posted on August 11, 2018 1 Comment
In this trio of recommendations each book focuses on an aspect of defence at sea – and they range in time from the Victorian era through the Second World War to the Cold War. The authors all have a different writing style but bring to their chosen subject much illuminating insight. Regular readers of my […]
Summer Selections
Posted on May 24, 2018 2 Comments
With summer well underway in the Northern Hemisphere one of the great pleasures of this time of year is relaxing outdoors with a good book – and a chilled beverage. This BookPick features three engrossing reads for the beach or patio plus two additional offerings, one on knots, splices and whippings; the other providing the […]
BookPick: The Undersea World
Posted on March 16, 2018 Leave a Comment
Readers of the Kydd series will recall several mentions of machines that enable humans to swim with the fishes. In Invasion Kydd meets the gifted but enigmatic inventor Robert Fulton and his prototype submarine. And in Inferno Kydd himself braves the world beneath the waves in a diving contraption. I have warm memories of learning […]
Books for Santa’s Sack 2017
Posted on November 14, 2017 2 Comments
I’m a bit of a bah humbug creature when it comes to the commercialisation of Christmas – but there’s one thing that I fervently believe: a book is a present that, if well chosen for the recipient, will give hours of pleasure and be a lasting reminder in itself of someone putting thought, not just […]
Bookpick: Something old, something new…
Posted on August 1, 2017 2 Comments
This selection spans two centuries – from the Napoleonic wars to the upcoming 100th anniversary of the shipwreck site of Scapa Flow. It includes two classics, recently reprinted, and brand new publications. Whether it’s an addition to your library or just a good holiday read, I hope there’s something for everyone in this special selection. […]
BookPick: Napoleonic Memoirs & Biographies
Posted on April 26, 2017 3 Comments
Among the many treasured volumes in my library are memoirs and biographies, which so often give wonderful insights into the individuals who strode the Napoleonic-era stage. I particularly enjoy hearing actual ‘voices’ from the past, they can really transport you back in time. Here are four recent titles that will appeal to all those drawn […]
Books – and prints – for Santa’s Sack 2016
Posted on November 22, 2016 7 Comments
I’m a bit of a bah humbug man when it comes to the commercialisation of Christmas – but there’s one thing that I fervently believe: a book is a present that, if well chosen for the recipient, will give hours of pleasure and be a lasting reminder in itself of someone putting thought, not just […]
BookPick: British Expeditionary Warfare and the Defeat of Napoleon
Posted on October 11, 2016 5 Comments
Britain’s naval victories in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars succeeded in protecting her from French invasion, but they could not of themselves defeat France. This required the support of allied armies and necessitated the shipping of formidable numbers of troops to, and successfully landing them on, French controlled territory – a major logistical operation […]
Julian Stockwin 