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Product Description
Brian Lavery, the pre-eminent historian of the Royal Navy, turns his astute and wide-ranging analytical eye on to its 'lower deck' - the world of the seamen as distinct from the officers of the 'quarterdeck'. If not totally overlooked in the grand narratives of the Senior Service the lower deck is often only noticed when it is a problem. Seamen are difficult to recruit, sometimes they mutiny on board ship, they are liable to drunkenness and venereal disease, they tend to desert or behave in a feckless manner. For the first time in a dedicated volume The Royal Tars of Old England presents the authentic voice, life and social history of the lower deck - how, in the confines of a fighting ship, the men asserted their independence of authority and, as part of this, established a vivid culture with its own values, language and rituals. The volume conveys the character of the seaman, from the early medieval navy through to the post-Trafalgar long peace, his attitudes to those above him and the navy's regulations, and the experience of battle as seen from the gun deck or the fighting top.
About the Author
Brian Lavery is one of Britain's leading naval historians and a prolific author. A Curator Emeritus at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and a renowned expert on the sailing navy and the Royal Navy, in 2007 he won the prestigious Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award. His naval writing was further honoured in 2008 with the Society of Nautical Research's Anderson Medal. His recent titles include Able Seamen (2011), Royal Tars (2010), We Shall Fight On The Beaches (2009), In Which They Served (2008), Churchill's Navy (2006), and the Sunday Times bestseller Empire of the Seas (2010).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Author Brian Lavery's credentials are as impressive as they come. Curator Emeritus at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, acknowledged expert on the sailing navy and the RN during WW2, her has won a number of prestigious awards for his work and has at least one best-selling title to his list of published books.
In this work he turns his ever-critical eye and ever-enquiring mind to the lower decks. Almost reaching out to the reader - and to any like-minded person with an interest in the Royal Navy (especially that of yesteryear under sail) he offers a clue to both his understanding of that navy and to his success in amassing the knowledge and experience he has. That clue is; In order to understand any Navy, you must first appreciate the men who manned the ships. Indeed, such a sentiment rings true across the widest possible spectrum of those engaged in warfare - even when they are not at war.
In this work we learn how the men of the lower decks are quite different from the officer class. They "are difficult to recruit, occasionally mutiny, liable to drunkenness and VD, tend to desert or behave in a feckless manner." Having read that on inside of the book's cover, it begs the question; So what is it that made them so special? The answer is a critical look at those fighting men through which an empire was forged, wars were won and enemies defeated. These men were commanded by some of the greatest admirals of all time - and none would have been swapped on the eve of battle.
In producing this wide-ranging appreciation, we get far more than how they ate and what they wore. In his usual style of drawing upon rare letters and hidden files, Lavery's research exceeds all expectations as he provides anecdotes and first-hand accounts of traditions, routine, discipline, behaviour, rules and regulations. In so doing, he produces a character assessment of the "Sailor" from medieval times right through that long term peace that followed Trafalgar.
If you want to know why the Parachute Regiment is the elite amongst British infantry, you must understand the common Paratrooper, his motivation and what makes him tick. If you want to know what made the Royal Navy what it was in the days of sail, you must understand the sailor and all about him. Not only will such an appreciation greatly assist those of us who are engaged in maritime research, it will also bring considerable understanding to those who like their books about ships and the sea - be they fact or fiction.
This book is a triumph of dedicated research, extremely readable and, altogether, another job well done by a man who understands his subject and is able to convey that understanding to those of us who seek to learn.
NM
In this work he turns his ever-critical eye and ever-enquiring mind to the lower decks. Almost reaching out to the reader - and to any like-minded person with an interest in the Royal Navy (especially that of yesteryear under sail) he offers a clue to both his understanding of that navy and to his success in amassing the knowledge and experience he has. That clue is; In order to understand any Navy, you must first appreciate the men who manned the ships. Indeed, such a sentiment rings true across the widest possible spectrum of those engaged in warfare - even when they are not at war.
In this work we learn how the men of the lower decks are quite different from the officer class. They "are difficult to recruit, occasionally mutiny, liable to drunkenness and VD, tend to desert or behave in a feckless manner." Having read that on inside of the book's cover, it begs the question; So what is it that made them so special? The answer is a critical look at those fighting men through which an empire was forged, wars were won and enemies defeated. These men were commanded by some of the greatest admirals of all time - and none would have been swapped on the eve of battle.
In producing this wide-ranging appreciation, we get far more than how they ate and what they wore. In his usual style of drawing upon rare letters and hidden files, Lavery's research exceeds all expectations as he provides anecdotes and first-hand accounts of traditions, routine, discipline, behaviour, rules and regulations. In so doing, he produces a character assessment of the "Sailor" from medieval times right through that long term peace that followed Trafalgar.
If you want to know why the Parachute Regiment is the elite amongst British infantry, you must understand the common Paratrooper, his motivation and what makes him tick. If you want to know what made the Royal Navy what it was in the days of sail, you must understand the sailor and all about him. Not only will such an appreciation greatly assist those of us who are engaged in maritime research, it will also bring considerable understanding to those who like their books about ships and the sea - be they fact or fiction.
This book is a triumph of dedicated research, extremely readable and, altogether, another job well done by a man who understands his subject and is able to convey that understanding to those of us who seek to learn.
NM
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Brian Lavery's history of the common seaman from 875 to 1850 is an enjoyable and informative read for anyone with an interest in the history of the sailing navy on a human level. I found the first two chapters particularly interesting - the first because it covers the birth and early development of the navy between the medieval and Tudor periods (about which I knew very little) and the second because it covers the seamen's actions during both the Civil War and the Restoration, which were a real eye-opener. The book has 7 chapters covering progressive time periods, and each of these is sub-divided into numerous smaller sections. This makes the book very easy to pick up and read a few pages at a time, but because the subject matter can vary significantly from section to section, it is also easy to lose the thread of what is being discussed.
So why only 3 stars? Well, this is without doubt the most poorly edited book I have ever read. It has all the appearance of having been edited by a computer spell-checker without any human intervention whatsoever. As a result mistakes occur with alarming frequency, and I often found myself re-reading sentences two or three times to try and make sense of what was being said. The problem is made worse because the book contains many (quite rightly) un-edited extracts from seamen's own letters, so when inappropriate words occur in these it is impossible to know whether the error is the seaman's or the editor's.
For anyone wishing to read a more general history of the men, officers and organisation of the sailing navy I would strongly recommend 'The Wooden World: Anatomy of the Georgian Navy' by N A M Roger. Whilst this excellent book covers a smaller period of naval history, it gives a much broader view of the whole organisation of the navy. It is hugely informative and very easy to read (once you have got through the rather laborious first chapter.)
So why only 3 stars? Well, this is without doubt the most poorly edited book I have ever read. It has all the appearance of having been edited by a computer spell-checker without any human intervention whatsoever. As a result mistakes occur with alarming frequency, and I often found myself re-reading sentences two or three times to try and make sense of what was being said. The problem is made worse because the book contains many (quite rightly) un-edited extracts from seamen's own letters, so when inappropriate words occur in these it is impossible to know whether the error is the seaman's or the editor's.
For anyone wishing to read a more general history of the men, officers and organisation of the sailing navy I would strongly recommend 'The Wooden World: Anatomy of the Georgian Navy' by N A M Roger. Whilst this excellent book covers a smaller period of naval history, it gives a much broader view of the whole organisation of the navy. It is hugely informative and very easy to read (once you have got through the rather laborious first chapter.)
0 of 9 people found the following review helpful
This book is a present, so I have no idea yet if it is a good book, but it certainly looks interesting.
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