Book description
The Royal Navy to which Admiral Lord Nelson sacrificed his life depended on thousands of sailors and marines to man the great wind-powered wooden warships. Drawn from all over Britain and beyond, often unwillingly, these ordinary men made the navy invincible through skill, courage and sheer determination. They cast a…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Jack Tar as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
A lot of the fiction and non-fiction around the Age of Sail and the Georgian navy focuses on the officers and the larger battles, so this book, discussing the lives of ordinary sailors, is very refreshing.
I read it for research for my own writing and really enjoyed the excerpts from the letters and other documents of the diverse groups of men (and women) who sailed on the ships of the line.
There is an intimacy there of seeing how these various stories and lives played out against the backdrop of wider events and political issues. It is something I…
From Katie's list on to get lost at sea with.
The Adkins husband-and-wife writing team used their background in archaeology to dig deep into historical archives in search of letters, diaries, and manuscripts to shed light on the ordinary sailors who manned the ships of the Georgian Navy. In essence, it is Jack Tar at work and play - in his own words.
From Julian's list on understanding the Age of Sail.
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