Sea-Room:   1797: Nelson's Year of Destiny by Colin White, --Nelson first came to public fame at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent 1797, when the Royal Navy won a great victory of the Spanish. Five month later in the attack on Santa Cruz on 22-25 July he suffered a bloody defeat at the hands of the Spanish and lost an arm. These two events played a key role in shaping Nelson's character and style as a leader. Taken together they mark a significant turning point in his life. Colin White draws together recent research and new discoveries into a comprehensive and enthralling narrative account that places the two battles in their strategic and political contents. He has uncovered previously overlooked contemporary accounts of both battles and has concluded that the traditional British accounts of both battles need careful reassessment. Colin's previous book, The Nelson Companion, complements his study of Nelson by carefully looking at many Nelson stories.. Sutton, , 36 b/w illus., 6.8 X9.8. H, List Price $35.00, Your price $26.25, Book Number B00693. Go top. Admirals of the New Steel Navy by James C. Bradford, --. Naval Institute Press, , , 6.3X9.3. H, List Price $46.95, Your price $35.20, Book Number B01288. Go top. Autobiography of a Seaman by Admiral Lord Cochrane, --Cochrane chronicles his own life as one of England's most famous and controversial heroes.. LYB, , 25, 6 X 9. P, List Price $19.95, Your price $16.95, Book Number B00818. Go top. Captain Blakeley and the Wasp: the Cruise of 1814 by Stephen W. H. Duffy, --This very late first full biography of American's most accomplished naval commander in the Age of Sail, Johnston Blakeley, probably results from the fact that most of his papers went down with him and his sloop-of-war Wasp in 1815 under circumstances that have yet to be fully explained. Using research results from both sides of the Atlantic, Duffy paints a vivid portrait of this all-but-forgotten hero of the early American navy. . Naval Institute Press, , illust. map, biblio., index, 6 X9. H, List Price $34.95, Your price $26.20, Book Number B00747. Go top. Captain Cook in the Pacific by Nigel Rigby, Pieter van der Merwe, --Captain Cook is generally acknowledged as the first great European scientific explorer. This book, published to accompany the National Maritime Museum's new gallery on ocean exploration, 'Oceans of Discovery' provides an overview of Cook's achievements. With chapters on Cook's great voyages. scientific exploration, ship construction and art, the book is a fascinating and accessible account, featuring many images from the Museum's own collections. . NMM, , , 7.5X9.5. P, List Price $26.95, Your price $22.90, Book Number B01272. Go top. Captain James Cook by Richard Hough, --Richly detailed, meticulously researched, but very readable, biography of this amazing seaman, explorer, navigatior, leader, cartographer, maritime visionary and one of the most celebrated men of his time.. W. W. Norton, 1994, Index, Photgraphs, Maps, 7 X9. P, List Price $15.00, Your price $12.75, Book Number B00471. Go top. Captain Marryat by Tom Pocock, --Seaman, writer, adventure. The Marryat books that Sea Room carries are not historical fiction but contemporary fiction. Captain Marryat served under Nelson and was first to present to readers stories about shipboard life. Always entertaining, always authentic.. Stackpole, , photos, 6X9. H, List Price $26.95, Your price $20.20, Book Number B01194. Go top. Cochrane: Britannia's Sea Wolf by Donald Thomas, --The fictional heroics of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey are pale imitations of the deeds of Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane, one of the most daring and successful real-life heroes the naval world has ever seen. In this fascinating account of his life, Donald Thomas fills in the details of Cochrane's winning exploits against the French Navy, actions that earned him the title "Sea Wolf" from Napoleon. Despite his extraordinary accomplishments and the controversies that plagued his long life, today the admiral is not well known outside the naval community. Thomas's splendid narrative is certain to give the valiant and romantic sea warrior the recognition he deserves. His meticulous scholarship and index, notes, and bibliography make the biography a useful reference. The battle descriptions are particularly noteworthy, especially that of the Basque Roads in 1809 when Cochrane nearly achieved another Nile. Cochrane's battles on land as a politician are described with equal attention to colorful detail. While mounting a vigorous campaign against corruption in the Admiralty, he gained many enemies, who, in turn, framed him in a sensational stock exchange fraud case. Imprisoned briefly, he fought back with his usual intensity, restored his reputation, and returned to sea, bound in 1818 for the wars of independence in South America. Once again with nearly total disregard of danger, he helped liberate Brazil and Chile from colonial rule. Upon his death in 1860, a few weeks before his eighty-fifth birthday, he received a hero's burial in Westminster Abbey.. Naval Institute Press, 1978, illus, note, bibl, index., 6x9. P, List Price $18.95, Your price $16.10, Book Number B01092. Go top. Confedrate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan by Craig L. Symonds, --A personal anti-hero, a man who had all the bad breaks: gave up command of the Washington Navy Yard because he was sure Maryland would secede; it didn't. Commanded the ill-fated CSS Virginia; but missed the battle with the Monitor. The first modern biography fitting for one so involved in the Confederate naval history. A leading historian of American naval history examines the life of Franklin Buchanan whose career straddled the transition from sail to steam and who was the Confederates first admiral. Buchanan resigned from the US Navy in April 1861 convinced his state, Maryland, would join the Confederacy. When Maryland didn't secede, Buchanan tried desparately to regain his commission and failure to do so lead to his molding Southern naval strategy. He commanded the Virginia (Merrimack) in the battle of Hampton Roads in 1861 and the Tennessee in the battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.. Naval Institute Press, , 35, 6 X9. H, List Price $34.95, Your price $26.20, Book Number B00746. Go top. John Paul Jones: a Sailor's Biography by Samuel Eliot Morison, --This 1959 Pulitzer Prize-winning book wividly portrays the illustrious career of John Paul Jones, from his early training at sea in the British West Indian merchant trade to his command in the newly independent American Navy and his eventual award of flag status. Morison captures vividly Jone's tenacity and fierce dedication and loyalty to his men and country, despite ill-treatment and only begrudged recongnition from his superiors. Jones incredible victories at sea form an important part of the book.. Naval Institute Press, , , 6/9/99. P, List Price $21.95, Your price $18.65, Book Number B00688. Go top. Life of Nelson: The Emmariner-bodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain ; The by Alfred Thayer Mahan, --Republished at the midpoint of the "Nelson Decade, " which commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of the admiral's electrifying victory and death at Trafalgar, this historically significant work is as relevant to today's readers as it was when first published more than a century ago. Despite the obvious differences between Nelson's world and ours, the qualities of leadership he demonstrated are readily transferable, and the economic and political influences on his navy are remarkably similar to those exerted on navies of the twenty-first century. Originally written in two volumes, the biography is now offered in a facsimile edition of the revised single-volume study published in 1899.¶ The author, Alfred Thayer Mahan, remains a highly regarded naval historian and naval theorist who saw Nelson as the on-deck demonstrator of the broad theories of sea power that he himself was articulating. As the subtitle of the book indicates, Mahan focuses on Nelson's professional life and provides a penetrating analysis of his naval career. Avoiding the pitfalls of previous biographies colored by hero worship, Mahan provides a balanced view that even won over an initially skeptical British audience. Evaluating the legendary figure from across an ocean and across nearly a century of time, he takes full advantage of information that appeared after Nelson's death and his own considerable knowledge of naval matters. One of Mahan's best books, this biography is credited with elevating the understanding of the geopolitical role of sea power and accelerating the influence of sea power on American history. ¶Alfred Thayer Mahan, an 1855 graduate of the Naval Academy and two-time president of the Naval War College, is the author of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History and other books. . Naval Institute Press, 2001, 11 photo,14 draw, 9 maps, intro: J. Callo, 5.5 X 8.5. H, List Price $45.00, Your price $33.70, Book Number B00905. Go top. Lord Cochrane: Seaman, Radical by A. S. Lloyd, --Christopher Lloyd chronicles the true life of the fighting captain whose bold career inspired the fiction of Marryat, Forester, and O'Brian. The controversial Thomas Cochrane, know to many as the "Sea Wolf," is second only to Nelson himself among the heroes and legends of the Royal Navy. Renowed for his daring, skill, and enterprise, Chochrane was much revered by his men and, remarkably enough, later went on to command ships in the navies of Chile, Brazil, Peru, and Greece, providing outstanding leadership in their struggles for freedom. As a Radical Member of Parliament and a staunch supporter of reform in its darkest hour, Cochrane stood on principle rather than practicality and constantly found himself at the center of political firestorms. --Devotees of Patrick O'Brian's brillian nautical series will recognize aspects of Lord Cochrane in Jack Aubrey.--Peter Jeans Of special interest: the Geoff Hunt cover shows the Gamo from the quarterdeck of the Speedy as she moves in for the attack.. H. Holt, , 35, . P, List Price $14.00, Your price $11.90, Book Number B00577. Go top. Lord Cochrane: Seaman, Radical by A. S. LLOYD, --Christopher Lloyd chronicles the true life of the fighting captain whose bold career inspired the fictin of Marryat, Forester, and O'Brian. The controversial Thomas Cochrane, know to manh as the "Sea Wolf," is second only to Nelson himself among the heroes adn legends of the Royal Navy. Renowed for his daring, skill, and enterprise, Chochrane was much revered by his men and, remarkablyh enough, later went on to command ships in the navies of Chile, Brazil, Peru, and Creece, providing outstandaing leadership in their struggles for freedom. As a Radical Member of Parliament and a staunchsupporter of reffform in its darkest hour, Cochrane stood n principle rather than n practicality and constantly found himself at the center of political firestorms. --Devotees of Patrick O'Brian's brillian nautical series will recognize aspects of Lord Cochrane in Jack Aubrey. Of special interest: the Geoff Hunt cover shows the Gamo from the quarterdeck of the Speedy as she moves in for the attack.. H. Holt, , , . H, List Price $25.00, Your price $18.75, Book Number B00579. Go top. Mad Jack Percival by James H. Ellis, --The colorful Captain John "Mad Jack" Percival was a legend in his time. Percival's naval career began in 1797 when he was impressed on the HMS Victory and ended in 1846 after taking the USS Constitution on her only around the world cruise. This book draws on unpublished journals, letters, and log to provide previously unknown details about his adventures and formative years in the US Navy.. Naval Institute Press, 2003, 30, . H, List Price $34.95, Your price $26.20, Book Number B01161. Go top. Pictures From the Life of Nelson by William Clark Russell, --The re-release of this long-lost gem from 1897 culminates the ten-year celebration of "The Nelson Decade" and coincides with the Trafalgar bicentennial events currently underway. The author, William Clark Russell, was one of the nineteenth-century's most popular and prolific writers of nautical literature, and his short stories and novels were so widely read that they were mentioned in other novels of the day. Largely forgotten today is the fact that Russell brought his prodigious storytelling talents to bear upon the true-life exploits of Admiral Lord Nelson. In 1890 Russell published a dense and lengthy biography of the admiral that left no stone unturned about the naval hero's life. With the timelessness of a good novel, the much leaner and better-paced Pictures focuses solely on the action-filled episodes of the Nelson saga. Modern-day readers who revel in the works of Patrick 0'Brian and C. S. Forester will find it to be just as enjoyable as did Russell's contemporaries. William Clark Russell, the Patrick 0'Brian of the nineteenth century, is the author of the novel The Wreck of the Grosvenor, among numerous other works.. USNIP, 2005, 8 Illus., 6X9. H, List Price $29.95, Your price $22.45, Book Number B00189. Go top. Private Journal of William Reynolds by William Reynolds, --A fine first person narrative of a sea voyage. Brings to life the thrilling world traveled by the six vessels in the 1838-42 Wilkes Expedition and its 87,000 mile, four year circumnavigation.. Penguin, 2004, , 5.5X7.8. P, List Price $15.00, Your price $12.75, Book Number B00157. Go top. Private Revolution of Geoffrey Frost; The by J. E. Fender, --First volume of another naval-warfare-under-sail fiction series making a run at the Forester-O'Brian axis; our hero fights for the British during the American Revolution.. Univ Press New England, 2002, , . H, List Price $25.95, Your price $19.45, Book Number B01077. Go top. Sea Wolf: The Life of Admiral Cochrane by Ian Grimble, --Thomas Cochrane's life has inspired naval authors from Frederick Marryat to Patrick O'Brien, but the Scottish admiral's life contained more adventures than any novelist could have created. Cochrane was a successful commander during the Napoleonic Wars, but his unorthodox tactics and views made him no friends at the Admiralty.. Birlinn, , 16 pages of photos, 6X9. P, List Price $29.95, Your price $25.45, Book Number B01212. Go top. Thomas Macdonough: Master of Command in the Early US Navy by David Curtis Skaggs, --The first biography of Macdonough since his grandson's in 1909. Many consider the September 11, 1814 battle the most significant of the War of 1812.. Naval Institute Press, , 30, 6X9. H, List Price $36.95, Your price $27.70, Book Number B01158. Go top.