Hi All,
Given the interest on the forum in all things nautical, I thought I'd give a "thumbs up" recommendation to a fairly recent book. The book is entitled "The Line Upon the Wind: The Great War at Sea, 1793-1815" by Noel Mostert. Some of you may know Mostert's writing from his earlier work, "Supership", which concerns supertankers and the oil industry. The earlier work was very favorably reviewed. I have not found an print media reviews of this new book, but my personal impression is that it is an outstanding work. I'm not a professional historian, so I can't comment on the fine details, in particular since much of what I learned in reading the book is new to me. The writing style is outstanding, and the breadth and depth covered provides an excellent introduction to this defining era of naval warfare during the age of sail. The first half of the book is naturally dominated by Nelson, who Mostert clearly admires greatly. However, the second half of the book is not an afterthought by any means and covers the later years with just as much enthusiasm.
Just a few quibbles with the book:
1. I have found in this book, and many others of this type, an inadequate amount of supporting map information. I think much of the discussion and analysis of the subject could be well enhanced by maps to understand the context better. This just might be my bias, but I always find that sort of visual information very welcome. For example, I recently finished Robert Massie's epic two volume work, "Dreadnought" and "Castles of Steel", and I would have welcomed a great deal more map information.
2. The other quibble is an inaccuracy, which simply may be an typo or editorial oversight, in the last chapter ("Postscript") where he notes that the Yamato was sunk by U.S. carrier based aircraft at Guadalcanal - all accurate except the location (and implied year). This sort of slip up always gives one pause as to the accuracy of the things you're not familar with. Given the exhaustive notes and good bibliography, I have to think the above was a minor slip.
The only review I found via Google was at the following:
http://www.amazon.com/review/RTD0FERJ3QLFZ
Well, if you sailheads and non-sailheads haven't had a chance to take a look at this book, I think you might well enjoy this read.
Cheers, Rick