Book review Book Review: "FIGHTING SHIPS 1750-1850" and "FIGHTING SHIPS 1850-1950" by Sam Willis

[Uwek]

Book Review:
FIGHTING SHIPS 1750-1850
by Sam Willis

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Quercus; 1st Ed. (U.K.) edition (25 Oct. 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781847241719
• ISBN-13: 978-1847241719
• ASIN: 1847241719
• Product Dimensions: 36.6 x 2.6 x 43.8 cm / 3,7 kg

About the Author

Dr Sam Willis is one of the world's leading authorities on the sailing navy and was awarded a PhD in Naval History for his thesis on Command and Tactics in the 18th-century Navy. He is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Exeter's Centre for Maritime Historical Studies and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Sam was presenter of the BBC series Shipwrecks and has consulted on maritime painting for Christie's and the BBC, spending 18 months as a Square Rig Able Seaman, sailing the tall ships used in the Hornblower television series and Channel 4's award-winning film Shackleton. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books including the bestselling 'Hearts of Oak' Trilogy. www.sam-willis.com.

N. A. M. Rodger is Professor of Naval History at the University of Exeter. He is the author of numerous books including The Wooden World, The Admiralty, The Safeguard of the Sea and Command of the Ocean.





SYNOPSIS:

This stunning collection of over 170 large-format colour illustrations includes paintings of ships at sea, in action, in convoy, and in siege; architectural drawings; battle diagrams; sea charts and signals; portraits of leading figures in naval history; and details of guns, sails, and life below deck. Taken from contemporary sources, they range from the Seven Years' War to the American Civil War. The book focuses on the navies of all the major Atlantic sea powers of the time, including Britain, America, France, Holland, Sweden and Russia. Arranged in chronological order, each illustration is accompanied by an extended caption that adds to this visual feast a compelling history of naval warfare in the last great age of sail. This volume is divided into eight chapters: The Seven Years' War 1755-62 The Napoleonic Wars 1803-15 The War of American Independence 1775-1783 The War of 1812 The Years of Exploration c.1770-1794 The Last Days of Sail The French Revolutionary Wars 1792-1802 Steam and Iron
















Comment:

A period of 100 years is so long, that no book can show every aspect. This book is a beautiful overview of the era of sailing warships.
Contemporary paintings and drawings, presented in oversize. So more details as usual are visible.
A very good and impressive coffee table book.

To get a feeling for the size of this book:

In the next post you will find FIGHTING SHIPS 1850 - 1950

 

[Uwek]

Book Review:
FIGHTING SHIPS 1850 - 1950
by Sam Willis

• Hardcover
• Verlag: Quercus Publishing; Auflage: UK ed. (8. Mai 2014)
• Sprache: English
• ISBN-10: 1848667027
• ISBN-13: 978-1848667020
• Größe und/oder Gewicht: 36.6 x 2.6 x 43.8 cm / 3,7 kg

SYNOPSIS:

Fighting Ships 1850-1950 presents a stunning collection of 150 large-scale paintings, drawings, photographs and ship plans that tell the story of naval warfare from the first iron and steam warships to the deadly U-boats and aircraft carriers of the Second World War. Over these 100 years, the most significant naval engagements are dramatically depicted in striking detail - the bombardment of Sveaborg during the Crimean war, the battles of Tsushima and Jutland, the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the D-Day landings, as well as the Japanese surrender - revealing the glory and exhilaration of the last great age of marine warfare. Arranged chronologically, the ships illustrated include HMS Warrior, the first iron-hulled, heavily armoured warship; the mighty HMS Dreadnought; the battleship Aurora which ignited the Russian revolution; the Graf Spee, under attack on the River Plate; the formidable German battle cruiser Bismarck; the British aircraft carriers HMS Argus and Illustrious, and the Japanese Akagi, amongst many others. This remarkable collection not only showcases some of the greatest naval artists of the period, including John Wilson Carmichael, Gustave Bourgain, McClelland Barclay, Kobayashi Kiyochika, William Lionel Wyllie, and the official British war artist Richard Eurich, but also features powerful photographs, often taken by the sailors themselves. Each image is accompanied by Sam Willis's expert commentary, shedding light on the key naval conflicts of the era, the breathtaking complexity of the modern warship - as well as life and death on board ship for the ordinary sailor.

 

[Uwek]

FIGHTING SHIPS - From the Ancient World to 1750

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Quercus; UK ed. edition (1 April 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1847248802
• ISBN-13: 978-1847248800
• Product Dimensions: 35.3 x 2.7 x 43 cm

SYNOPSIS

Beginning with Ramses III's dramatic defeat of the 'sea people' in 1176 BC - the world's earliest visual record of a naval battle - Fighting Ships tells the story of 3000 years of maritime history through 150 glorious images. From the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans to the coming of the age of sail, here are breathtaking depictions of ancient triremes and Viking longships, the Santa Maria and the Spanish Armada, as well as Henry VIII's giant carracks and the majestic three-decked warships of Louis IV that patrolled the Mediterranean. Arranged chronologically, this sumptuous collection of grand-scale images brings together the earliest carvings on temple walls and the world-famous Bayeux tapestry, with exquisite depictions by the greatest artists, including Tintoretto's The Capture of Constantinople, Brueghel's The Fall of Icarus, Vasari's The Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and Samuel Scott's The Capture of Puerto Bello. Here too are striking portraits of key historical figures, such as Columbus, Raleigh and Drake, alongside ship plans, drawings, engravings and artefacts rescued from the wrecks themselves. Maritime historian Sam Willis recounts famous battles, voyages of conquest and tales of triumph and defeat at sea. He not only reveals the secrets of naval strategy and ship design, but also sheds fascinating light on the lives of the great men that commanded their fleets, as well as on the heroism and hardship of life on board for the ordinary sailor.


From the Inside Flap

The figure of the Pharaoh, bow drawn, takes aim across a sea of dad men and discarded weapons. Lion-headed Egyptian vessels repel the last enemy ships, their victory complete.

Beginning with Ramses III's dramatic defeat of the 'sea people' in 1176BC - the world's earliest visual record of a naval battle - Fighting Ships tells the story of 3000 years of maritime history through 150 glorious images. From the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans to the coming of the age of sail, here are breathtaking depictions of ancient triremes and Viking longships, the Santa Maria and the Spanish Armada, as well as Henry VIII's giant carracks, Turkish galleys and the majestic three-decked warships of Louis XIV.

Arranged chronologically, this sumptuous collection of grand-scale images brings together the earliest carvings on temple walls and the world-famous Bayeux tapestry, with exquisite depictions by the greatest artists, including Tintoretto's The Capture of Constantinople, Brueghel's The Fall of Icarus, The Battle of Lepanto by Vasari and Samuel Scott's The Capture of Puerto Bello. Here too are striking portraits of key historical figures, such as Columbus, Drake and Barbarossa, alongside ship plans, drawings, engravings and artefacts rescued from wrecks.

Maritime historian Sam Willis recounts famous battles, voyages of conquest and tales of triumph and defeat at sea. He not only reveals the secrets of naval strategy and ship design, but also sheds fascinating light on the lives of the great men that commanded their fleets, as well as on the heroism and hardship of life on board for the ordinary sailor.

Dramatic, astonishing and always spectacular, Fighting Ships brings to life three millennia of naval history, from classical galley ships to magnificent men-of-war.