"A delight . . . fulfills a long-felt need to do justice to the smaller ships of war that did such sterling service for the sailing Royal Navy."— Ships in ScaleThis is the first study in depth of the Royal Navy's vital, but largely ignored small craft. In the age of sail, they were built in huge numbers and in far greater variety than the more regulated major warships, so they present a particular challenge to any historian attempting a coherent design his...

**"A treasure of a book."—David McCulloughThe harrowing story of a pathbreaking naval expedition that set out to map the entire Pacific Ocean, dwarfing Lewis and Clark with its discoveries, from the New York Times bestselling author of Valiant Ambition and In the Hurricane's Eye.**A New York Times Notable BookAmerica's first frontier was not the West; it was the sea, and no one writes more eloquently about that wa...

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • The inspiration for the major motion picture The Command, this riveting, brilliantly researched account details the deadliest submarine disaster in history and its devastating human cost.“Fast-paced . . . an emotion-packed and ultimately heartbreaking story that also sheds light on the Soviet military’s decline.”—The Washington PostOn a quiet Saturday morning in August 2000, two explosions—one so...

Foreword by Admiral Sir John Woodward. When published in hardcover in 1997, this book was praised for providing an engrossing education not only in naval strategy and tactics but in Victorian social attitudes and the influence of character on history. In juxtaposing an operational with a cultural theme, the author comes closer than any historian yet to explaining what was behind the often described operations of this famous 1916 battle at Jutland. Although the British fleet was victorious ...

"A first-rate visual guide to the most famous preserved warship on the planet. The imagery has the 'wow' factor . . . a brilliant showcase."— Warships International Fleet ReviewHMS Victory is probably the best-known historic ship in the world. A symbol of the Royal Navy's achievements during the great age of sail, she is based in Portsmouth and seen by tens of thousands of visitors each year.In this new series written by experts and contai...

In the tradition of Shadow Divers, this is the gripping true account of the search for German U-boat U-550, the last unfound, diveable wreck of a U-boat off the United States coast, and the battle in which it was sunk.On April 16, 1944, the SS Pan Pennsylvania was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-550 off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. In return the sub was driven to the surface with depth charges, and then sen...

The Laforays were the largest, most powerfully armed and successful ships of this type to see frontline action with the Royal Navy in WWII. They were also the handsomest warships to see service and presented a perfect combination of power and speed. They were assigned to the most dangerous theaters of war including Force H, sailing between Gibraltar and Malta, from where they operated against the German supply lines to North Africa. They escorted minelayers into the German backyard in the ...

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation -- and the only admiral to serve as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO -- comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world’s most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial element in our current geopolitical path.From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is of...

When war broke out between Great Britain and the United States in 1812, Sir George Prevost, captain general and governor in chief of British North America, was responsible for defending a group of North American colonies that stretched as far as the distance from Paris to Moscow. He also commanded one of the largest British overseas forces during the Napoleonic Wars. Defender of Canada, the first book-length examination of Prevost’s career, offers a reinterpretation of the general...

Hector C. Bywater was perhaps the British secret service's finest agent operating in Germany before the First World War, tasked with collecting intelligence on naval installations. Recruited by Mansfield Cumming, the first 'C' (or head of what would become MI6), Bywater was given the designation 'H2O' in what was a rather obvious play on his name - and the equivalent of James Bond's '007'. Indeed, the charming, courageous Bywater probably came as close to the popular image of Ian Fleming's...

The Seven Years War (1756-1763) was the first global conflict and became the key factor in creating the British Empire. This book looks at Britain's maritime strategic, operational and tactical success (and failures), through a wide-ranging history of the Royal Navy's role in the war. By the end of the war in 1763 Britain was by no means a hegemonic power, but it was the only state capable of sustained global power projection on a global scale. Key to Britain's success was political and st...

In "Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean: The Grand Period of the Moslem Corsairs," E. Hamilton Currey delves into the intricate and tumultuous world of Mediterranean piracy during the height of the Moslem corsairs' influence. This scholarly work combines meticulous historical research with vibrant narrative prose, offering readers an engaging insight into the life and exploits of these seafaring brigands. Currey contextualizes the corsairs within broader geopolitical dynamics, revealing how re...