This book is packed full with more treasure than Davy Jones's
locker. Written in an enormously readable and wry style, it
achieves the unthinkable and makes nautical history a fascinating
and compelling subject for the uninitiated landlubber. Howarth
covers with panache a vast array of great British endeavours at
sea, including a chapter on 'The Sport of Baiting Spaniards',
apparently "the greatest sport of Elizabethan England." There's a
great story of Drake ambushing the Spaniards to steal their gold
and then making away on a raft of trees with a sail of biscuit
sacks, covering nine miles waist-deep in water before a storm. The
major events one would expect are charted including the Armada, the
East India Company, the Mutiny on the Bounty and the era of Nelson.
This is a rousing narrative of high jinks, treachery, heroism and
intrigue that leaves you wanting to sing Rule Britannia and unfurl
the Union Jack. An excellent book. (Kirkus UK)
The British did not take to water like ducks, for centuries doing
little but cling to coastal waters. The Romans and Vikings knocked
spots of us as seamen, and the English upper classes saw seafaring
as mercantile and beneath them. Britain's success at sea began with
Elizabeth I and the defeat of the Armada, thanks to superior
gunnery and seamanship. Elizabeth employed practical seamen like
Hawkins and Drake - and they repaid her trust. Howarth reconstructs
the expansion of trade routes and the great 18th - century days of
the line of battle ships. With Napoleon's fall, the British were
free to expand, and their prestige rose so high that sea warfare
almost ceased as British ships patrolled the oceans. In the 20th
century, the British navy was twice as big as any other. Full of
anecdote, erudition and humour, this is a classic account.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
