Black Ship; The by Dudley Pope,
--Legend has it that Patrick O'Brian's editor paid that author's first manuscript what he considered to be high praise indeed: he compared it to the works of Dudley Pope. The late Pope's naval histories are renowned for the way they share the riveting, evocative character of his novels. This is true of none more than The Black Ship, a work of nonfiction that reads like a thriller. In a true story evocative of Mutiny on the Bounty, Pope recounts one of the most brutal episodes in British Naval history, the bloody mutiny aboard H.M.S. Hermione, and the Royal Navy's daring recapture of the same ship., H, Pages 412. , 5.5 X8.5. List Price $30.00, Your price $22.50, Book Number B00467. Go to top of catalog.

Feeding Nelson's Navy by Janet Macdonald,
--The first modern study of the whole process of naval provisioning Debunks many of the most commonly held myths about shipboard food and drink The prevailing image of food at sea in the age of sail features rotting meat and weevily biscuits, but this highly original book proves beyond doubt that this was never the norm. Janet Macdonald shows how the sailor's official diet was better than he was likely to enjoy ashore, and of ample caloric value for his highly active shipboard life. When trouble flared--food was a major grievance in the great mutinies of 1797--the usual reason was the abuse of the system. This system was an amazing achievement. At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy's administrators fed a fleet of more than 100,000 men, in ships that often spent months on end at sea. Despite the difficulty of preserving food before the advent of refrigeration and meat canning, the British fleet had largely eradicated scurvy and other dietary disorders by 1800. A chapter compares provisions in the other major navies of the time, and the book concludes with recipes for some exotic sounding naval dishes, like lobscouse. While it contains much of value to the historian, the book will enthrall anyone with an interest in life at sea in the age of sail., H, Pages 224. , 6.9. List Price $39.95, Your price $29.95, Book Number B00168.

Golden Ocean; The, by Patrick O'Brian,
--Patrick O'Brian seems to like the theme of the impoverished parson's son who joins the navy to make his fortune. That the son is Irish and we get to see a bit of Ireland as O'Brian collects his characters before putting to sea provides a bonus to readers. Midshipman Palafox joins Anson's fleet (after the usual interminable wait and until their secret is well known generally). The fleet plans to seek out Spanish ships, particularly the Manila ships, in the Pacific which means a trip around Cape Horn, a trip endangered by each day's delay into winter. Since this trip's success has been assured by history and O'Brian writes about the vast treasure in all three books covered in this summary, The Golden Ocean becomes a book about the terrible human price and the emotional roller coaster ride Palafox and his mates share., H, Pages 285. Novel., 6 X 8.5. List Price $22.50, Your price $16.85, Book Number B00034.

Heart of Oak: A Sailor's Life in Nelson's Navy by James P. McGuane,
--From tar-ladles and snuff-boxes to sailmaker's fids and carronades: a gorgeous photographic essay onthe nautical worlds of Jack Aubrey. The extraordinary photography in this book was inspired by the author's reading of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. In small museums along the English coast, and in private collections, James McGuane has recorded artifacts recovered from shipwrecks and preserved by modern conservation techniques. Taken together, these unique treasures provide a window onto the everyday life of sailors and officers in the Royal Navy of the Napoleonic era. Thanks to advances in marine archaeology, it is often possible to establish the exact identity of a wrecked warship, along with the date and circumstances of its sinking. We are thus provided with a moment frozen in time: tools, clothing, utensils, weapons, and fragments of the ship itself startlingly intact. These photographs bring home to the reader-as words alone cannot-what a sailor's life in that time was really like. Also photographed here is Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship HMS Victory, proudly preserved at Portsmouth. Victory survived the great fleet action at Trafalgar, where Nelson himself died, and it is still a commissioned ship in the Royal Navy. , H, Pages 192. History/Military, 10X11. List Price $49.95, Your price $37.45, Book Number B01093.

Jack Aubrey Commands: An Historical Companion to the Naval World of Patrick O'Brian by Brian Lavery,
--No fiction writer of modern times has captured the world of wooden walls, broadsides, and the press gang as successfully as Patrick O'Brian. The twenty books in the O'Brian canon featuring the lives and adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and his confidant, naval surgeon Stephen Maturin, have been lauded across the world for their blend of classic storytelling, historical accuracy, and inspired characterizations. In this new work respected naval historian Brian Lavery explores the historical framework of the O'Brian novels by examining the facts behind the grand narrative and putting the key episodes in context while detailing naval life in the era of Nelson and Napoleon. With well over a hundred illustrations, the book presents contemporary plans, drawings, engravings, maps, and photographs of museum artifacts that have inspired age-of-sail novelists and moviemakers. Introducing the book is a foreword by Peter Weir, director of the upcoming film of O'Brian's novel Master and Commander. Avid age-of-sail fans will not want to miss this colorfully detailed complement to the O'Brian series., H, Pages 224. 30, 8x10. List Price $34.95, Your price $26.20, Book Number B01175.

Kedge-Anchor, or Young Sailor's Assistant; The by William Brady,
--A reprint of the 1849 edition (the 4th) of an illustrated square-rig seamanship textbook. ("Preparations for leaving the wharf,and hauling out to the stream," etc.), P, Pages 400. , . List Price $16.95, Your price $14.40, Book Number B01078.

Marine Art of Geoff Hunt; The by Geoff Hunt,
--Patrick O'Brian wrote: "Geoff Hunt's pictures, perfectly accurate in period and details, but very far from merely representational, are often suffused with a light reminiscent of Canaletto" Geoff Hunt, RSMA, is known to millions of readers across the world as the artist responsible for the covers of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin novels. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the leading marine artists of his generation and his paintings of square-riggers, sea battles and naval operations, as well as deck and port scenes, truly evoke the era and workings of Nelson's Navy and those of its enemies during the `Age of Sail'. The Marine Art of Geoff Hunt, written by the artist himself, presents over 100 paintings and sketches for the first time in a beautifully produced single volume. Geoff Hunt's prolific career, his painting techniques and artistic influences and the trademark meticulous primary research, which contributes to each of his canvases, are examined in a lengthy introduction. This is followed by a series of five copiously illustrated `Case Studies' where the artist explains the initial inspirations, the exploration of source material and the often lengthy artistic progression that leads to the creation of a finished painting. The major part of the volume is dedicated to a plate section focussing on four distinct themes exhibited in the artist's output: Painting Nelson's Navy; The American Revolution; Illustrating the Naval Writers and The Modern Marine Scene., H, Pages 160. , 12X10. List Price $45.00, Your price $45.00, Book Number B01256.

Nelson's Navy, The Ships, Men And Organization 1793-1815 by Brian Lavery,
--Foreword by Patrick O'Brian. A perfect reference companion for O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin books. Recommended by O'Brian at his National Archives lecture. Use it as "salt" for the O'Brian series, (and a unique coffee table book for office or den). Content includes contemporary drawings, new illustrations, photographs, and graphic explanations. Partial chapter list: Naval history of England's war with France, ship types, shipbuilding, officers, recruitment and seamen, seamanship, shipboard life, and battle tactics., P, Pages 352. Many Illustr., Drawings, Photos, Appendices, Index, 10 X 12. List Price $37.50, Your price $30.00, Book Number B01147

Patrick O'Brian's Navy by Richard O'Neill,
--From the moment that Master and Commander, the first of Patrick O'Brian's sequence of 20 novels about the 19th century British Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey and his surgeon colleague Stephen Maturin, was published in 1970, critics hailed his work as a masterpiece of historical recreation. Called "the best historical novels ever written" by the New York Times, the books have sold millions of copies. This first full-color illustrated companion to the Aubrey-Maturin series, timed to coincide with the release of the blockbuster Twentieth-Century Fox film adaptation starring Russell Crowe, explains the fascinating physical details of Jack Aubrey's fictional world. An in-depth historical reference, it brings to life the political, cultural, and physical setting of O'Brian's novels. Annotated drawings, paintings, and diagrams reveal the complex parts of a ship and its rigging, weaponry, crew quarters and duties, below-deck conditions, and fighting tactics, while maps illustrate the location featured in each novel. Richard O'Neill is a writer and editor who has specialized in military history for 40 years. , H, Pages 160. 30, 10.8X10.8. List Price $30.00, Your price $22.50, Book Number B01192.

Patrick O'Brian: Critical Essays And A Bibliography by Arthur Cunningham,
--A valuable addition to your Patrick O'Brian collection. A "thank you" from the British Library to Patrick O'Brian for his lifetime of writing; a group of writers expressing their "appreciation" of his work. Contains a comprehensive bibliography of POB's work, his translations, their publication and reviews, and his reviews of other books. The book has five sections: a brief O'Brian autobiography; Literary Reviews by R. Ollard, J. Bayley, and Charlton Heston; Historical Perspective by N. A. M. Rodgers, B. Lavery (author of Nelson's Navy), L. J. West; two O'Brian short Stories; and an extraordinarily detailed Bibliography accompanied by a forty year collection of O'Brian reviews. The book's "centerfold" is a plate (I think by Lavery) with the profile of the HMS Surprise which, it turns out, actually existed., H, Pages 175. Illus., Photos, Essays By B. Lavery, C.heston, Etc, 6 X 9.5. List Price $23.95, Your price $17.95, Book Number B00106.

Port-Wine Sea: A Parody by Susan Wenger,
--The Port-Wine Sea is a rousing parody of the best historical fiction ever written. It is a story about a British naval captain during the Napoleonic War, and his friend, a naval physician/espionage agent. They set sail once again aboard "H.M.S. Aghast" during the War of 1812 to demonstrate to the upstart Colonies the errors of their ways. The doctor/spy tries to establish liaison with the Creek Indians to create a diversion to the main British assault. Meanwhile the noble Captain is diverted by a teenaged Maryland vixen. Along the way, they encounter a skittish horse, a demure skunk, a whooping crane, and an escaped colony of termites aboard the ship., P, Pages 192. , 6X8. List Price $12.95, Your price $11.00, Book Number B00027.

Sailing Vessels in Authentic Early Nineteenth-Century Illustrations by Edward William Cooke,
--In 65 splendid plates, Cooke captured contemporary watercraft in wonderfully authentic, accurate, and detail-fulled engravings. The Plates include both river and ocean craft, naval and merchant vessels, and shoreline activities. Locations include Portsmouth, Brighton, Kingsgate, Folkestone and Dover. A delight for art lovers and maritime enthusiasts., P, Pages 80. 30, . List Price $7.95, Your price $6.75, Book Number B00525.

Seamanship In The Age Of Sail by John Harland,
--A modern, objective appraisal of the shiphandling of square-rigger that is as concerned with the practical aspects of the subject as it is the theoretical. International in balance, it provides a historical development of seamanship among the major navies of the world. The many drawings are both browsable and informative. Though not a square-rigger's best side, the many bird's eye drawings of a ship during such maneuvers as "heaving to" in which you look straight down on the masts make it much clearer about the setting of the yards., H, Pages 320. 350 Illustrations., 10 X 12. List Price $67.50, Your price $50.60, Book Number B00132.

Ships and Seamanship: Maritime Prints of J.J. Baugean by John Harland,
--Jean Jerome Baugean was a French marine artist of the Napoleonic era whos engravings are prized by ship historians for their accuracy and detail. Apart from his accomplishment as a artist, Baugean waas also an experienced sailor, and he often used his illustration to demonstrate a specific point of seamanship, shiphandling, or port activity. In this collection of nearly two hundred prints, John Harland describes the significance and nuances of each engraving. For example, he points out how Baugean depicted a French ship-of-line fly-block as secured to the backstay with a short rope becket to prevent it from becoming a dangerous missile should a halliard part. A fascinating collector's volume. John Harland is author of Sea Room's Seamanship in the Age of Sail., H, Pages 208. 192 illus., 8.5 X 11. List Price $65.00, Your price $48.70, Book Number B00907

World of Jack Aubrey; The by David Miller,
--A stunningly illustrated guide to the ships, weapons, uniforms, and equipment described in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series. Many of the items are actual battle relics such as the coat worn by Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar., H, Pages 96. More than 200 illustrations, 8.5X11. List Price $12.98, Your price $9.70, Book Number B01198.

Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor; The by Darcy Lever,
--An unabridged republication of the second edition published by John Richardson, London 1819. John Harland edited this reproduction. First published in 1808, Sheet Anchor quickly became a standard for Jack Aubrey's contemporaries and current students of Nelson's navy will welcome the authentic detail it contains. Starting with a precise explanation of the principles of rigging, Lever continues his exposition through a well defined account of a ship's operation, the effect of the wind on its sails. Detailed drawings accompany the explanations. An opportunity to add an important treatise of sailing and seamanship to your library., P, Pages 256. Appx. Dictionary Of Sea Terms, 8.5 X11. List Price $14.95, Your price $12.70, Book Number B00451.