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Rating: 
Summary: Superb brief account of sailing war ships
Review: I was delighted by this book. Each chapter is an artcile on a aspect of the sailing warship. The book restricts itself to the years 1650-1840, this being the time period where sail, not oars nor steam, was the predominant motive force for ships. It is also limited in scope to ships used in war. This ranges from the large 100+ gun ships down to ship tenders and hulks.The first several chapters focus on the size, rigging, and use of different classes of ships. Later chapters give a pleasantly simple account of how sailing works, the tactics used in a battle where the guns are slow to load and the wind and tide have a pronounced effect on the combatants, the decoration on the ships, details of the fittings, and more. This was a more scholarly work than the cover would imply. There is a wealth of good figures, with numerous photographs of period models. Aside from a few typrographic errors, the text is well written and clear.
Rating:
Summary: Superb brief account of sailing war ships
Review: I was delighted by this book. Each chapter is an artcile on a aspect of the sailing warship. The book restricts itself to the years 1650-1840, this being the time period where sail, not oars nor steam, was the predominant motive force for ships. It is also limited in scope to ships used in war. This ranges from the large 100+ gun ships down to ship tenders and hulks. The first several chapters focus on the size, rigging, and use of different classes of ships. Later chapters give a pleasantly simple account of how sailing works, the tactics used in a battle where the guns are slow to load and the wind and tide have a pronounced effect on the combatants, the decoration on the ships, details of the fittings, and more. This was a more scholarly work than the cover would imply. There is a wealth of good figures, with numerous photographs of period models. Aside from a few typrographic errors, the text is well written and clear.
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