HMS Turbulent

HMS Turbulent written by Stephen Wynn and published by Pen & Sword Books

- £22 - Hardback - Pages 280

HMS Turbulent was a Royal Navy T-class submarine. From its launch in May 1941 to when it was lost at sea, along with its entire crew, in March 1943, it was responsible for the sinking of nearly 100,000 tons of enemy shipping.

Besides the number of enemy vessels it sunk, HMS Turbulent has gone down in history for the attack on the Italian merchant vessel the Nino Bixio, which at the time was carrying more than 3,000 Allied POWS who had been captured during the fighting in North Africa.

Having left the Libyan port of Benghazi on 16 August 1942, accompanied by the Italian cargo vessel the Sestriere, the Nino Bixio was attacked the following day. A total of 336 Allied POWs, most of whom were either Australian or New Zealanders, were killed or died of their wounds in the explosion.

Although badly damaged, the Nino Bixio stayed afloat and was towed to Navarino, in southern Greece, where the surviving POWs disembarked. The wounded were treated in hospital, while the rest were shipped on to POW camps in Bari, Italy.

Although there have been different theories put forward as to how HMS Turbulent met its end off the Italian coast in 1943, there is still no absolute certainty as to where, when and how the boat and its crew were lost.

This was an interesting story to read and I have to say that a good number of Pen & Sword Books produce such interesting books, such stories where there is little publicity of it or is rarely mentioned. For example this book, I had never heard of but now I have and I am thankful for that and I remember the author wrote The Shetland Bus, another great book on a subject I had never heard of. This book covers the little known story of HMS Turbulent which sank an Italian ship, the Nino Bixio which was carrying 336 POW’s, but then the HMS Turbulent would soon be lost too. The author argues a number of possible causes to it’s demise which are very though provoking and interesting. An excellent book and easy to read, a recommended book on a largely forgotten story of WW2.

Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume 2: Escorts and Smaller Fighting Ships

Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume 2: Escorts and Smaller Fighting

Ships written by Przemyslaw Budzbon , Jan Radziemski, Marek Twardowski and

published by Seaforth Publishing - £45 - Hardback - Pages 304

Seventy-five years after the end of the Second World War the details of Soviet ships,

their activities and fates remain an enigma to the West. In wartime such information was

classified and after a brief period of glasnost (‘openness’) the Russian state has again

restricted access to historical archives. Therefore, the value – and originality – of this

work is difficult to exaggerate. It sees the first publication of reliable data on both the

seagoing fleets and riverine flotillas of the Soviet Navy, listing over 6200 vessels from

battleships to river gunboats, and mercantile conversions as well as purpose-built

warships.

This second part of the three-volume series includes all the remaining fighting vessels not already covered in Volume I. Beginning with the Uragan class – rated as Escort Ships and the first seagoing warships designed by the Soviet Union – the book then moves on to Submarine Hunters, both large and small, Patrol craft, Minelayers and Minesweepers, and unusual types like Floating Artillery Batteries and Anti-Aircraft Defence Ships, concluding with Landing Ships and Craft. Many of these vessels have hitherto been poorly documented but given the nature of the land-centred Soviet war against Germany their contribution should not be underestimated. The details of their service and, not least, the circumstances of their loss, constitute a major addition to Western understanding of the Soviet Navy’s war effort.

This is undoubtedly one of the most important naval reference works of recent years and will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in warships, the Soviet Navy or wider maritime aspects of the Second World War. Furthermore, as recent Russian actions appear to revive Soviet-era aspirations, this book offers both new insights and valuable background of contemporary relevance.

This volume of the Soviet Fleets concentrates on the smaller boats of the fleet, covering vessels such as Escort Ships, Mine Layers, Patrol Boats, Submarine Hunters and much more. The research and technical details in this book is huge, and so much effort shows. The book is crammed with facts, statistics, photographs, drawings and tables all seem to be a first-class, and if anything I think I’ve learnt more about the Soviet fleet than I know about the Royal Navy. A fantastic book that will delight those who have an interest in the Soviet Navy, and I imagine the book would be good for model collectors or makers.

The Pirate Who Stole Scotland - William Dampier

The Pirate Who Stole Scotland - William Dampier written by Leon Hopkins and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 228

Economic warfare is not a new phenomenon. In the protectionist climate of the

seventeenth century, trade embargoes, exclusions and boycotts were common.

England was among the most active nations when it came to using economic clout to get its own way. It did so to force Scotland to accept an Act of Union: to submerge its independence within a United Kingdom governed from London.

Instrumental in this attack upon the Scots was William Dampier, the principal subject of this book. He was an extraordinary man. A farmer’s son, he became the most travelled man of his generation. He was a pirate, a brute and a devious sociopath. But he was also a scientist and a talented writer who gave his readers accurate descriptions of previously unknown places, peoples, plants and animals. He was a daring explorer and an expert navigator who mapped coastlines and logged wind patterns and ocean currents. He led the first Royal Navy expedition to Australia, over 70 years before Captain Cook’s arrival.

Dampier’s writing made him famous, but not rich. It allowed him to rub shoulders with the leading men of his day; scientists such as Robert Hooke, Edmund Halley and Hans Sloane, businessmen such as Sir John Houblon (first governor of the Bank of England) and William Paterson, politicians such as James Vernon and Charles Montagu (first Earl of Halifax), and Admiralty men such as Admiral Sir George Rooke and Samuel Pepys.

And Dampier was in the pay of the English Government; an agent known to Queen Anne, in which capacity he engineered a financial disaster and political drubbing for Scotland.

William Dampier was a name I had heard of before, but had never really paid much attention to, but what a character, a man who seemed to have met everyone and done everything. Pirate, Financier, Scientist, Writer and much more. The book reveals his need to prosper, someone who was always trying to find that new thing or success that would improve his standing in society. My thought from reading this book was that he may not get the recognition he might deserve purely because many would see him as anti-Scotland, as so much money was put into various schemes that more or less forced Scotland into being a part of the Union. The writer has done a really good job in gaining what information he could find, and has helped write a clear book that has been made easier to read and understand. A really interesting book about a figure in history that should get more attention than he has.

Naval Eyewitnesses - The Experience of War at Sea, 1939–1945

Naval Eyewitnesses - The Experience of War at Sea, 1939–1945 written by

James Goulty and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 264

Although many books have been written about naval actions during the Second World

War – histories and memoirs in particular – few books have attempted to encompass

the extraordinary variety of the experience of the war at sea. That is why James

Goulty’s viv-id survey is of such value. Sailors in the Royal Navy and the Merchant

Navy experienced a war fought on a massive scale, on every ocean of the world, in a

diverse range of ves-sels, from battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines to merchant

ships and fishing boats. Their recollections are as varied as the ships they served in,

and they take the reader through the entire maritime war, as it was perceived at the time

by those who had direct, personal knowledge of it.

Throughout the book the emphasis is on the experience of individuals – their recruit-ment and training, their expectations and the reality they encountered on active service in many different offensive and defensive roles including convoy duty and coastal de-fence, amphibious operations, hunting U-boats and surface raiders, mine sweeping and manning landing and rescue craft. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the sailors themselves, what action against the enemy felt like and the impact of casualties – seamen who were wounded or killed on board or were lost when their ships sank.

This is an excellent book about life in the Royal Navy during World War Two, this book looks at the views and opinions of most ranks on board from a wide variety of ships and vessels. I think this is what makes this book is all the opinions of the variety of shipmen, how they see things, the thoughts on the war and also the daily routines of being on board a ship or submarine. In fact, I enjoyed all of this book because the information at the start of the book was also informative and useful like the timeline and the abbreviations. A solid book that really informs you about life in the Navy during WW2.

Royal Yachts Under Sail

Royal Yachts Under Sail written by Brian Lavery and published

by Seaforth Publishing - £50 - Hardback - Pages 160

From the time of the Restoration of Charles II, when he returned to England from Breda

and was presented with the yacht Mary by the burgomaster of Amsterdam, Royal yachts

began to be defined as such in England and built with that special purpose in mind.

They were built luxuriously and used for royal visits to the fleet, for diplomacy and for

racing and cruising for pleasure.

Charles II took more of an interest in the sea than any other English monarch. He built a fleet of royal yachts, fine examples of ship design and decorative art, and he can be said to have been the father of yachting and of royal yachts. His successors were less keen on the sea but travelled to Europe on missions of peace and war; and royal yachts took part in regime change several times. In 1689 Queen Mary was bought over to join her husband William of Orange and complete the ‘Glorious Revolution’. In 1714 George I arrived from Hanover to establish a new dynasty. And in 1814, in a reverse process, King Louis XVIII was taken back to France to restore the monarchy after the defeat of Napoleon.

This important new book is the first to describe the building and decoration of the yachts in such detail, using many newly discovered sources; and it is the first to describe their uses and exploits, often taking their royal passengers into controversy or danger. Besides the yachts themselves, it reveals much about the character of the kings, queens and princes involved – the impetuousness of the future William IV for example, or his brother George IV’s surprising love of sailing. It describes the design, accommodation, and sailing of the yachts, as well as their captains and crews.

Royal Yachts Under Sail is a beautiful-looking book, it’s a coffee table size book, so one that’s not so easy to read laid in bed. I have to start with the fact that this book is choc full of brilliant and beautiful artwork of fantastic royal ships, scenes, sailors and ports of interest. The pictures in my opinion really bring the book and subject to life, and the standard of art is just very beautiful. The book also contains maps, diagrams, illustrations and plans which are of equally high standard too. 

The book explains the story of the start of the Royal Yacht era with the return of

Charles II, but these boats were not just your standard boat, these boats were

vessels of high luxury, style and expense. Their opulence would bring stature,

standing and status to the monarch and his country. This is a fascinating book

if you're into learning about boat building, with much talk about plans, ease of

building, standards of building and work. This book was a fascinating read I

have enjoyed reading and would easily please anyone who loves to read about

early sailing or model makers.

The Allied Air Campaign Against Hitler's U-boats

The Allied Air Campaign Against Hitler's U-boats written by

Timothy S. Good and published by Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 256

No weapon platform sank more U-boats in the Second World War than the Allied aircraft.

Whether it was an American plane operating from American escort carriers, US aircraft

from Royal Air Force bases, or British aircraft from bases throughout the world, these

officers and men became the most decisive factor in turning the tide of the Battle of the

Atlantic against the German submarine threat. While the German crews could threaten

escort vessels with torpedoes, or avoid them by remaining submerged, their leaders

never developed an effective strategy against aircraft.

However, the Allied aircraft did not enjoy much early success. British, Canadian and Australian air crews that fought the U-boats from 1939 until 1941 achieved few triumphs. They possessed neither the aircraft nor the bases necessary to deliver consistent lethal attacks against German submarines.

In 1941, the Royal Air Force finally began implementing an effective aircraft response when it initiated training on the American-built Consolidated B-24 Liberators. Supported by other types then in service, these four-engine bombers would prove to be decisive. With America’s entry into the war, the United States Navy and the United States Army Air Forces also began employing Liberators against the U-boats so that by mid-1943, the Admiral Karl Dönitz, commander of U-boat forces, withdrew his submarines from the North Atlantic in recognition of the Allied aircraft’s new dominance.

From Dönitz’s retreat to the end of the war, Allied aircraft continued to dominate the U-boat battle as it shifted to other areas including the Bay of Biscay. Dönitz eventually ordered his U-boats to remain on the surface and engage Allied aircraft as opposed to submerging. This approach did lead to the demise of some Allied aircraft, but it also resulted in even more U-boat being sunk. Most critically, Dönitz acknowledged with his new policy that he knew of no tactics or weapons that would defend his submarines from Allied aircraft. In the end, it was a matter of choosing whether his submariners would die submerged or die surfaced. Either way, Allied aircraft prevailed.

This book The Allied Air Campaign Against Hitler’s U-Boats was a book I was quite interested to read, mainly because its not a subject I have read too many books about. But this book can certainly be said to be a very comprehensive book full of much detail and knowledge, the author Timothy S. Good certainly knows quite a bit about this subject. The book was written in chronological order and we learn a lot about the planes, communications, various operations and fighting between the two sides and the locations of war in the Atlantic. The only downside I found really to the book was that it was very US-centric and coming from an area that was heavily involved in the campaign on the Atlantic, I was hoping to learn a little more about my area. But other than that it was a very comprehensive and detailed read, and one I will pick up and read again soon.

The Ocean Class of the Second World War

The Ocean Class of the Second World War written by Malcolm Cooper

and published by Seaforth Publishing - £30 - Hardback - Pages 216

They entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat

threat was at its most dangerous, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit.

They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the

Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North

Africa and Italy and the land campaigns which followed, in the D-Day landings and later

amphibious operations on the south coast of France. Finally, some of the class joined an

invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945.

The Oceans paid a heavy price for these accomplishments, one third of the class being

lost to torpedoes, bombs or mines in places as far apart as the Florida coast, the Norwegian

Sea, the Bay of Algiers and the Gulf of Oman.

While these achievements alone would merit an important place in histories of the war at sea, the impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves. The yards where they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942. Even more important, the Oceans’ blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,700-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies’ favour and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet.

This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, restores the Oceans to their rightful place in history. The ships’ design antecedents are explained, and their ordering, financing and construction are analysed in full. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theatre and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of their subsequent peacetime careers and a comparison to other war-built designs. This is a model history of a highly significant class of ship.

The Ocean Class of the Second World War was certainly an interesting book, and a very comprehensively published book. This book looks at the cargo type sea-going ships, the book goes on to explain how Britain had a minimum number of these and so had to try and get a good number of these made as the country headed into WWII. The problem was that Britain had specific specifications it wanted, and where the US was the place to go, they were reluctant to build such ships. This would lead to the UK purchasing a number of yards in the US & Canada to build what they wanted specifically, and eventually, the US would come round to the British way of thinking and would eventually build similar ships to similar designs. The book is fully illustrated with photographs, pictures, plans, drawings and diagrams, the history, story and text supporting all this is informative and detailed. This book is a very good and easy read, one I quite enjoyed learning more about. A certainly recommended read.

Republished from 9th September.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects written by Simon Wills and published by

Frontline Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 224

The history of shipwrecks involves many shocking episodes: from men who saw shipmates eaten

by sharks, to castaways who ate each other. Learn about the cowardly captain who deserted his

passengers on a sinking ship, the obstinate ship-designer who took 480 men to their deaths, and

the first mate who wrecked his own ship for insurance money.

Historian and genealogist Dr Simon Wills is maritime adviser to BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? programme. In this fascinating book he uses objects associated with real incidents as touchstones for every tale. Our ancestors believed that sea monsters destroyed ships, but better-established causes include storms, war, pirates, human incompetence, fire and ice.

The pages of this book are packed full of tales of dramatic rescues and miraculous survivals, and as well as the stories of the innovations that have improved safety at sea. Meet the man shipwrecked three times within an hour, a coastguard still diving overboard to save lives at 79, and the lifeboat inventor who endured someone else taking credit for his work. Ships can have character too: refusing to sink despite overwhelming odds, or even returning to haunt us as ghost ships.

The dangerous life afloat stimulated pioneers to create the lifeboat service, offshore lighthouses, and lifejackets. Vessels lost at sea also inspired rewards for bravery, and artists and writers such as J.M.W. Turner, William Wordsworth, and Yann Martel the author of Life of Pi.

Featuring famous wrecks such as Mary Rose and Titanic, this book introduces other less well-known but equally remarkable events from our nautical heritage, some of which seem almost too extraordinary to be true.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects is fast becoming one of my favourite book series, and the reason for this is that it shows how much you can learn about something just from small, seemingly inanimate objects or places. This is probably the 4th 100 Objects book that I have read, and this book is just as good as the others. They are all very interesting to read, the information is always insightful and intriguing, the authors always seem to do so much research and put plenty of detail into the book. This book covers a plethora of shipwrecks or problems at sea, ranging from wrecks through the weather, ‘monsters’, pirates and collisions with ships and the rocks. The objects are also wide-ranging and obscure too, such as paintings, medals, stained glass windows, tickets, photos and much more. I fully enjoyed this book and in quite a way it gets you hooked on the sea-faring life, if you are into life on the waves, you’ll love this book.

The Harwich Striking Force

The Harwich Striking Force written by Steve R Dunn and published by

Seaforth Publishing - £25 - Hardback - Pages 336

The Harwich Force has made its name and will not be forgotten during the future annals of history’; so said Rear Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt on Armistice Day 1918. But that fame has not endured. Yet for the whole duration of the First World War, the Harwich Striking Force was the front line of the Royal Navy, a force of cruisers and destroyers defending the seas for the Allies.

Under a charismatic and aggressive leader, Reginald Yorke Tyrwhitt, U-boats, German cruisers, destroyers and light craft all met their ends at the hands of the Force, as did enemy seaplanes and Zeppelin airships. The Harwich ships were at sea almost daily throughout the war, haunting the German coast and the Friesian Islands, pioneering aerial attack from the sea, developing naval carrier aviation and combined air/sea operations, and hunting for enemy submarines and minelayers in the North Sea. The Harwich Force also took part in major naval battles alongside the Grand Fleet’s battlecruisers, and protected merchant ships operating in the dangerous waters around Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Britain.

The author also assesses the role played by the other Royal Navy formations at Harwich: submarines, auxiliary minesweeping and patrol vessels, the Felixstowe seaplane base and the town itself. And when the war was finally won, the Force gained further fame when the German U-boat fleet was surrendered there.

Lavishly illustrated, this book is an enthralling account of the men of the Harwich Force, of their grit and brave sacrifice and the key part that they played in the final Allied victory against Germany.

I enjoy it when a Steve R Dunn book arrives for review, your guaranteed a very good and comprehensive read. It’s probably reading Dunn's books that have encouraged my reading of everything naval or maritime in recent years. The Harwich Striking Force goes through the highs and lows encountered by the striking force and what a fantastic job they did throughout WWI, facing German U-Boats, cruisers, destroyers and even light aircraft, seaplanes and zeppelins. The Harwich Force was fundamentally holding their own led for the most part by their tenacious leader in Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt. The ability of Tyrwhitt to organise and plan manoeuvres would hold off and help secure the North sea area, providing a vital win for the allied cause. 

The book, in my opinion, is very well written and a lot of research has gone into this book, there are a good number of photographs throughout the book with maps and diagrams too. I always enjoy the notes and tables at the back of a book and this book doesn’t disappoint with excellent appendices, notes and a bibliography. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I guessed I would, it really is a good read and kept me hooked for a good few days. Most definitely recommended.

Titanic - Day By Day

Titanic - Day by Day written by Simon Medhurst and published by Pen &

Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 400

After the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912, the story hit the headlines worldwide.

Details of the tragedy were displayed on the front pages of every newspaper and

magazine, and were talked about in every home.

The events that happened on that fateful night should never be forgotten. In this unique book, each page is filled with information for every Titanic enthusiast, whether seasoned or a beginner. For each day of the year, there are births and deaths of passengers and crew alongside relevant newspaper articles from the time. These are details of true-life events as seen by the eyes of the world in 1912.

Also included are Titanic facts and Titanic survivor quotes. This allows the reader to discover more about the tragedy as it unfolded before the eyes of witnesses, and to delve into the British and American inquiries to see what really happened.

Simon's great-grandfather Robert Hichens, one of the six quartermasters of the Titanic, was at the helm when the ship hit the iceberg. He survived on lifeboat number six. His experience on Titanic is one of hundreds recounted in this book, passengers and crew alike.

Titanic Day by Day has a worldwide appeal to all ages because of the wealth of information and facts within. The book can be picked up both for casual reading or used every day of the week and enjoyed. It is distinctive in the way that it covers facts and information on Titanic’s passengers and crew in a daily format. With the information displayed throughout a full year, this allows for a uniquely straightforward exploration of details about the people who perished in the waters of the Atlantic and those that survived. This will keep their stories alive for generations to come.

This book is very much a personal book concentrating on the passengers rather than the disaster itself. The book looks at every day throughout the year and looks at the personal events of the people who were on board on that date. What this allows is the personal stories of the people and how the disaster affected them, and it should be said that the accounts are of those passengers but also the crew members on board. This was a nice easy read, but it should also be said that it was very informative and detailed, there has been a lot of research gone into this book.

Churchill’s Arctic Convoys - Strength Triumphs Over Adversity

Churchill’s Arctic Convoys - Strength Triumphs Over Adversity written by

William Smith and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 272

The threat of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler’s surprise invasion of Russia in June 1941, succeeding

prompted Churchill to decide to send vital military supplies to Britain’s new ally.

The early sailings to Northern Russia via the Arctic Ocean between August 1941 and February 1942 were largely unopposed. But this changed dramatically during the course of 1942 when German naval and air operations inflicted heavy losses on both merchantmen and their escorts. Problems were exacerbated by the need to divert Royal Navy warships to support the North African landing.

Strained Anglo-Soviet relations coupled with mounting losses and atrocious weather and sea conditions led to the near termination of the programme in early 1943. Again, competing operational priorities, namely the invasion of Sicily and preparations for D-Day, affected the convoy schedules. In the event, despite often crippling losses of lives, ships and supplies, the convoys continued until shortly before VE-Day.

This thoroughly researched and comprehensive account examines both the political, maritime and logistic aspects of the Arctic convoy campaign. Controversially it reveals that the losses of merchant vessels were significantly greater than hitherto understood.

While Churchill may not have described the convoys as ‘the worst journey in the world’, for the brave men who undertook he mission often at the cost of their lives, it most definitely was.

I’ve been reading about the Arctic Convoys for probably the last 5 years since reading a book on the convoy PQ-17, I just find it absolutely fascinating with so much information, yet it gets very little publicity when learning about the Second World War. This book Churchill’s Arctic Convoys is another good addition to the collection, whilst it doesn’t go specifically into one convoy it does a wide collection of them. But this is good because even I have been learning a lot from this book and picking up new information. In my opinion, the men who served on these convoys deserve a lot of respect for their bravery as they weren’t just fighting the enemy in the German Luftwaffe, they were also fighting the conditions such extreme cold, freezing sea water, equipment that didn’t always work correctly in such cold conditions, politics rain, snow and ice. The book goes into detail of the events, conditions the supplies they were carrying, events and everything the Germans could throw at them. This is a very well-written book, informative and I loved the statistical information and charts at the back of the book. A thoroughly good read on the subject, one I would happily recommend.

The Pirate Captain Ned Low His Life & Mysterious Fate

The Pirate Captain Ned Low His Life & Mysterious Fate written by

Dr Nicky Nielson and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 224

Edward ‘Ned’ Low’s career in piracy began with a single gunshot. While working on

a logging ship in the Bay of Honduras the quick-tempered Ned was provoked by the

ship’s captain. He responded by grabbing a musket and inciting a mutiny. Then the

London-born sailor and a dozen of his crewmates held a council, stitched a black

flag and voted to make war against the whole world preying on ships from any nation,

flying any flag. Low’s name became synonymous with brutality and torture during the

1720s as he cut a swathe of destruction from the shores of Nova Scotia to the Azores,

the coast of Africa and throughout the Caribbean. Ned Low’s life was one of failed

redemption: a thief from childhood who briefly rose in the world after moving to America,

only to fall again lower and harder than before. He was feared even by his own crew,

and during his life on the wrong side of the law he became infamous for his extreme

violence, fatalistic behaviour, and became perhaps one of the best examples of why

pirates were classed in Admiralty Law as hostis humani generis: the common enemies

of all mankind.

This book follows the life of Captain Ned Low, a man from very humble beginnings, I must admit I had not heard of Captain Ned Low but thanks to Pen & Sword Books my knowledge of piracy has started to increase thanks to three books I’ve read recently on different pirates. This book is very interesting in that the author Dr Nicky Neilson has done a great job in mixing educated opinions and sources of information. We have a great story mixed in with great information and sources, of a man who seemed to attain the ability to be quite a prolific pirate. This has been a great book that I’ve fully enjoyed, here’s hoping for books about other pirates.

The Pirate Queens - The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read

The Pirate Queens - The lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read written by Rebecca Alexandra

Simon and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 208

Between August and October 1720, two female pirates named Anne Bonny and Mary Read terrorized the Caribbean in and around Jamaica. Despite their short career, they became two of the most notorious pirates during the height of the eighteenth-century Golden Age of Piracy. In a world dominated by men, they became infamous for their bravery, cruelty and unwavering determination to escape the social constraints placed on women during that time. Despite their infamy, mystery shrouds their lives before they became pirates. Their biographies were recorded in Captain Charles Johnson’s 1724 book, A General History of the Pyrates, depicting the two women as illegitimate women raised by men who, against insurmountable odds, crossed paths in Nassau and became pirates together. But how much is fact versus fiction?

This first full-length biography about Anne Bonny and Mary Read explores their intriguing backgrounds while examining the social context of women in their lifetime and their legacy in popular culture that exists to the present day. Using A General History of the Pyrates, early modern legal documents relating to women, their recorded public trial in The Tryal of Jack Rackham and Other Pyrates, newspapers and new, uncovered research, this book unravels the mysteries and legends surrounding their lives.

When pirates come up it always pricks my interest mainly because I live in the area where another pirate is said to have come from, Barti Duu (or in English, Black Bart) and my only problem really with pirates is the lack of knowledge, records or understanding we have about them. But as the author has a highly recommended knowledge and background in pirates and their lives, I found it safe to say that although a 100% knowledge of these two might not be available, the author has a solid background in the subject.

This book looks at the lives and ventures of these two female pirates, and it was a really good read and very informative throughout. I think the author Simon has done a good job based on the information available, it was quite entertaining and I would actually like to learn more about other pirates now too. I would recommend this book, the author has done a great job.

Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic

Key Figures Aboard RMS Titanic written by Anthony Nicholas and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £20.00 - Hardback - Pages 208

Titanic. The Marilyn Monroe of ocean liners. A sleek, sultry beauty, taken out way before her time. A kind of 21st century Flying Dutchman, with interiors by Cesar Ritz, still striving to achieve the waters of a port she can never reach.

Titanic is a brilliantly lit stage, carrying her cast of exotic, terminally endangered extras toward an abyss at once both unfathomable and inconceivable.

Here’s where any similarity with any other tome about the Titanic ends.

For the first time ever, a succession of key characters and groups of individuals come to the fore. Centre stage, over seventeen chapters, we meet the men whose decisions, actions and omissions combined like some slow burning powder trail to trigger a final, cataclysmic conclusion; the foundering, in mid-Atlantic, of the biggest moving object ever seen on the face of the planet.

One by one, a series of individuals take a bow. Seemingly omnipotent owners and hugely experienced ship’s officers. Engineers and designers. Would be rescuers and embattled wireless operators.

We meet them as individuals, not supermen. Their histories, backgrounds and life experiences are assessed for the first time ever, putting their actions on the night that Titanic sank into a context, a light as stark as that of the distress rockets, arcing into the sky…

This book to me is about the writing and the stories of those involved in the events that happened that fateful night in 1912. We all know that the Titanic was one of the biggest cruise liners in the world and through a number of mistakes, it would hit an iceberg and would slowly sink to the bottom of the ocean. As I said firstly was the excellent writing by the author Anthony Nicholas, the book is split into 17 chapters but each one looks at a figure in the building, commissioning and working on the liner. Some of the figures and stories you have a lot less sympathy for and some of them show a great deal of fortitude and bravery. But the writing conveyed by the author is great and really had me engrossed in the book which I spent a long evening reading. I would definitely recommend this book to others for its great detail and writing.