Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Speaking as someone who spends his entire day immersed in research, research and even more research, I am instantly able to recognise a kindred spirit. From the moment I opened this book and began to scan through it's 250 pages, I knew I was in possession of an item of considerable quality which had been thoroughly researched by the author.
This is a large coffee-table size book laid out in the best way possible. For those who are not quite sure of exactly what is a "Big Gun Monitor," what better than to commence with it's origins. This is followed by sections devoted to the 14 in., 12 in., First 15 in., Ex Brazilian River Monitors, Ex-Norwegian vessels, Small Monitors, Second 15 in., Last 15 in. and the guns they used before the author offers a retrospective view. Altogether, I view this book as a most complete and competent work.
Not only does the overall standard of photography do the author and publisher much credit, we are largely treated to a large collection of images not previously published alongside a few which might be familiar to some. Alongside these, throughout the book, we also have the technical pleasure of line drawings and blueprints of a type of vessel of which there are no surviving examples anywhere in the world!
Whilst most readers will enjoy the complete history of this type of ship, I have no doubt that others will doubtless buy the book in order to make models of these intriguing vessels,
Whilst I cannot claim to have read every single word (yet!), I have cross-referenced a great deal of the material found within this book with other learned sources and have found no errors or omissions.
This is a lot of book. It contains a lot of history, a lot of information, a lot of line drawing and a lot of photography for the asking price.
Worth every penny.
NM
Click Here to see more reviews about: Big Gun Monitors: Design, Construction and Operations, 1914-1945
Little more than huge gun mountings fitted on simple, self-propelled rafts, the Royal Navy's big gun monitors were designed and built rapidly to fulfill an urgent need for heavy shore bombardment during World War I. They were largely forgotten when this short-lived requirement was over until Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Now completely revised, expanded, and redesigned to a larger format, the book provides a top-notch technical and operational history, supported by more than 200 illustrations of the ship.
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