Broadsides

by Nathan Miller

Book Overview

"Roosevelt is brought to life once again in a clear, concise, and well-documented story from beginning to end . . . it is a pleasure."?Washington Post Book World

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0785820221
• ISBN13: 9780785820222
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Castle Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

I was born 200 years too late

and if I was born in 1759, would I have joined the Royal Navy? Probably, yes. I loved the book. Nathan Miller's excellent research is inspiring. He covers the period fromthe American Revolution to the War of 1812 in a fast, concise, manner. I learned things about John Paul Jones that weren't mentioned in JOHN PAUL JONES, FIGHTINGSAILOR. Any Hornblower and Aubrey-Maturin fans here?Thomas Lord Cochrane was the inspiration for both Hornblower and Jack Aubrey. Sir Edward Pellew, a captain in the Royal Navy during the Wars of the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars, is mentioned in the Hornblowerbooks. It mentions the Barbary Pirates too and the GeorgeWashington Incident.

Guts, Glory and Real History

Broadsides is perfect for history buffs and for fans of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels, which are set in the same period. This is popular history in the Barbara Tuchman (Guns of August) manner: thoroughly researched by an expert who also has a fine sense of narrative drama (even the occasional footnotes are enjoyable): It's fun to read. It's to read. The Age of Fighting Sail is conventionally put at about 160 years; author Miller has confined himself to the last quarter or so, and with good reason. The shorter time span narrows his focus and lets him richly detail on a period that needs detailed coverage. After all, at this time Britain was frequently in conflict with the US, then Bonaparte, then all of the countries that deserted the British cause to join Boney--or later deserted Boney to join Britain. Only details can reduce the confusion. Here's an example of the value of detail: Most Americans learn in basic history class that Washington and Cornwallis somehow found themselves at Yorktown together, where Cornwallis just threw in the towel and--bang!--just like that the American Revolution ended. Miller shows that Cornwallis, hunting for glory, exhausted him army in a series of useless victories, fought too far inland for the Royal Navy to support or supply him, and then had to run to Yorktown in hope of being evacuated by the British fleet. But the French fleet got there first (by pure luck) and the Royal Navy's failure to trounce it was a perfect example of hidebound, backward tactics that took no risks but gained no glory. The over-cautious British admiral had protected his career and reputation but, as another historian put it, "He had merely lost Amnerica." As the American Revolution ends and the French begins, Miller shows British seapower on the cusp of change, at last moving away from risk-averse tactics under the urging of a generation of more daring commanders: Pellew, Howe, Collingwood, Jervis and the immortal, incomparable Nelson. Many of their battles were as exciting in fact as they are in the movies. There's excellent material on the faltering beginnings of the American navy too, which (for example) Thomas Jefferson was mightily in favor of until, as president, he decided he didn't want to pay for it. The cast of characters is superb: the British fighters mentioned above and scheming Boney, of course, but also the usual crew of addlepates and blockheads in the Admiralty; Captain Bligh (not the sadist he's been painted as); hilariously inept French and Spanish admirals; even worse British generals (except for the miraculous Arthur Wellesley--later the Duke of Wellington); and the odd, cross-grained collection of self-interested citizen-patriots of the American Revolution. Nathan is especially good at distinguishing between naval combat and seapower; with brisk, incisive strokes he shows how all those blockades and sinking ships affected alliances and strategy. O'Brian fans will especially appreciate

Great Story of the Period of Fighting Sail

This book of four hundred pages by Nathan Miller is a great and riveting account of the age of 'Fighting Sail'. The book covers the period from 1775 to the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Having read a number of books on Nelson, Sir Sidney Smith and Lord Cochrane I found this book a treat. It covered this great period of sail with a majestic overview, covering all the famous actions and commanders. Many of the stories I had heard before but the author's style of writing made it all seem new to me. I still found many things that I had never heard before and the book was full of fascinating stories. The narrative was easy to read and just flowed along with accounts from the participants adding flavour to the story. Accounts such as the story about one French officer having himself placed in a tub of bran to slow the bleeding from his legs that had been blown away so he could continue to command. And another about how the water frothed from the feeding frenzy of the sharks after dead seamen had been dumped overboard during an engagement are just awesome when you sit back and think about the those images. The story was fast paced and the author provided a number of drawings of some of the classic engagements and commanders. I would have liked to see some maps outlining positions taken by the ships before and during the battles but that is only a small complaint. If you are looking for a good and easy to read single volume account of this period I could not recommend a better book. If you enjoyed this book I would also recommend Tom Pocock's 'A Thirst for Glory' which covers the life of Sir Sidney Smith and Donald Thomas's 'Cochrane: Britannia's Sea Wolf' which is a brilliant story of one of greatest Frigate commanders during the age of fighting sail.

A fascinating and scholarly account

This is a great book! Instead of another recital of major battles, indistinguishable from one another, Nathan Miller has carefully selected a handful of examples to illustrate chosen themes in each chapter. Thus you learn a great deal about the lives of the men on board, of the officers who commanded them, and the admirals who ran the fleets, all set against a thoughtful background. The technological and social changes over this period are discussed intelligently, and will influence even the most knowledgeable reader. The book is a pleasure to read and highly informative.

Non-fiction matches O'Brian's fiction

Those who have liked Patrick O'Brian's great sea adventure novels are sure to welcome this factual narrative of the same period of war on the high seas. Miller not only gives the historical background of naval warfare in the age of sail, he tells how the ships and guns worked, how the sailors lived, how the admirals thought and fought. His subtitle on the age of sail might also have been "the age of Nelson," for he uses the life of the hero of Trafalgar to tie together the widespread action during the years from the American revolution to the War of 1812. One of the book's most memorable scenes is the day when Nelson first went on board a warship at the age of 12. As Miller tells of the rousing battles to follow, they are not just scattered outbursts of action around the world; each takes on strategic meaning in relation to the others. This book is much better written than the typical history. Miller was a World War II sailor and has written a series of other naval histories; he knows both the subject and the lingo. His fluent narrative is founded on solid research. I recommend it as a companion volume to the works of O'Brian and C.S. Forester. It fully deserves five stars.