Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World Review

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(More customer reviews)When it comes to publishing a book, any book!, colour and paper quality cost money. This particular product has 272 pages of top quality paper with colour images on almost every single page. To enable the potential buyer to visualise the work, it is almost A4 size and about one inch thick. In short, this is an awful lot of book for £20 (UK Price) - even more so when one studies the content.
Produced to accompany a forthcoming BBC TV series presented by Dan Snow, this work is written by Brian Lavery whose reputation and list of credits are as outstanding as they come. As Curator Emeritus of no less an institution than the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, this author brings the highest possible standing to the subject. Having said that, I did pause when I came across those areas which I happened to know in sufficient detail in order to check the facts presented. Not only did I find no errors, but on two occasions my own knowledge was corrected! Such is the quality of the research, the detail and the presentation it all unites into a result on which you can rely.
Having said all that, there is so much more to this book than just a collection of Naval facts supported by excellent images. In addition, it must be said that the book also stands well on its own - in that you do not have to watch that forthcoming TV series in order to obtain maximum benefit from this product.
Dan Snow is the son of long-time British TV presenter Peter Snow and previously joined forces with his father to co-present such programmes as the excellent series "Battlefield Tour." My own personal view is that Dan is now ready for his own series and this opportunity will provide him with his own defining moment as he comes of age as a presenter in his own right. Just some private thoughts as I wish him well.
As far as the actual content is concerned; The reader is taken from the defeat of the Spanish Armada right through to WW1 - as seen through British naval ships, men, development and tactics and all, as I say, lavishly illustrated with images of the best possible quality. It is the components of this book which were the very ingredients that shaped a nation and an Empire on which the sun never set.
Finally, I am delighted the BBC have allowed Conway to reproduce this book. These publishers have an equally high reputation in the field of maritime books and, all things considered, everything here combines to produce the best possible product of the highest achievable standards on all fronts - "and" at a most reasonable price.
NM


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