BookPick Category
BookPick: A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England
Posted on March 17, 2015 2 Comments
Now that Thomas Kydd finds himself mingling at the highest levels in English society his horizons have changed immeasurably from those of the humble wig-maker who was press-ganged into the Royal Navy in 1793. Sue Wilke’s book is a very readable eye-witness guide to Kydd’s new world. Packed with detail, and anecdotes, the book is […]
Building an Age of Fighting Sail Reference Library, Part 1
Posted on January 15, 2015 4 Comments
It’s a question I’m quite often asked – what books do I suggest would be useful to acquire in order to learn more about the period I write about. It was hard to make a selection from the vast range of wonderful titles that have been published over the years, so I’ve decided it warrants […]
BookPick: The British Navy in the Baltic
Posted on December 28, 2014 2 Comments
The Baltic is not usually popularly associated with activities by the Royal Navy – yet it was arguably the most vital sea highway to Britain in the last few centuries. This book covers the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century. It traces developments from […]
BookPick: A Christmas Double Helping
Posted on December 9, 2014 1 Comment
Kathy always tells me men are hard to busy presents for – so here are two suggestions for Christmas gifts for males with an interest in the maritime world: Early Ships and Seafaring and The Royal Navy and the War at Sea 1914-1919. The former covers the earliest days of water transport up to the […]
BookPick: The Animal Victoria Cross
Posted on November 23, 2014 6 Comments
Nearly seventy animals to date have won the Dickin Medal, the highest award for animal bravery. Many of their inspiring stories are told in a delightful book, The Animal Victoria Cross. The Animal Victoria Cross, as it came to be called, was the brain-child of animal lover Maria Dickin. Its official name is the Dickin […]
BookPick: From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow
Posted on November 16, 2014 2 Comments
Arthur J Marder was a distinguished historian of the modern Royal Navy, publishing some fifteen major works on British naval history. He died in 1980. Despite recent major contributions from more modern historians Marder’s books are justly regarded by many as the definitive history of naval events leading up to and including the Great War […]
BookPick: A History of the Royal Navy Series
Posted on September 23, 2014 3 Comments
The History of the Royal Navy is published by I.B.Tauris, in association with the National Museum for the Royal Navy. The series consists of three chronologically themed books covering the sailing navy from the 1660s until 1815; the navy in the nineteenth century from the end of the Napoleonic Wars; and the Navy since 1900. […]
BookPick: The Great War at Sea
Posted on August 23, 2014 5 Comments
Lawrence Sondhaus brings impressive credentials to this work; he is Director of the Institute for the Study of War and Diplomacy at the University of Indianapolis. In his Introduction, Sondhaus makes the point that while the Great War was a conflict distinctive for its unprecedented bloodshed, less than 1 percent of the 8.5 million combatant […]
BookPick: Mary Rose and Billy Ruffian
Posted on August 13, 2014 1 Comment
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] Some ships capture our hearts and minds. Mary Rose and HMS Bellerophon are two such celebrated in this double helping of Book Pick. One ship has been saved for the nation, the other sadly not, but both are deservedly especially […]
BookPick: Arthur Phillip
Posted on June 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] I had several reasons to look forward to reading this book – at university I read Australian history and Arthur Philip had also served as a naval officer, as I had. As well under sail I’d explored much of Port […]
Julian Stockwin 