Sons of the Waves: The Common Seaman in the Heroic Age of Sail
Stephen Taylor
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Sons of the Waves: The Common Seaman in the Heroic Age of Sail
Stephen Taylor
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Taylor uses memoirs, diaries and letters to let seamen and officers speak, as far as possible, for themselves. Usually plain, though sometimes literary and poetic, their words conjure visions for us. Some are glimpses of all-too-frequent horror.
...[a] rollicking narrative of life at sea in the age of sail.
This is not a book for naval buffs interested in grand strategy, tactics or the majestic ships of the Royal Navy, much less their captains. Besides muster rolls, ships’ logs and court-martial proceedings, Mr. Taylor relies heavily upon seamen’s memoirs, of which some dozen afford full-length accounts, augmented by shorter written recollections. No other book resurrects the wooden world of Jack Tar in such captivating and voluminous detail.