 The modern image of the sailing-era frigate is of a 44-gun frigate with a main battery of 24-pound guns. In nautical fiction authors love pitting the hero against a 44-gun French or American frigate. Fiction is only part of the reason. The last surviving American frigate of that era, USS Constitution, belongs lo this class. The most famous Royal Navy frigate of the Napoleonic Era, HMS Indefatigable, was one of Britain's rare 24-pound frigates.
Yet 200 years ago the 44-gun frigate was a freak. The world's navies built only a handful of these monsters. By 1802 the 24-pound frigate was considered a failed experiment. The Royal Navy decided that the smaller 38-gun frigate was a handier choice. The American Navy built 13 frigates between 1794 and 1801. but only three 24-pound frigates. No others were built or planned. Ten years later these three American 44s redefined the frigate. Their victories led to a new generation of large frigates.
Navies now built and maintained frigates of a size formerly associated with ships-of-the-lint, and large frigates dominated the last three decades of the era of the sailing warship. A very interesting publication with the content that will definitely be greatly appreciated with all people having the interest in the warships of the past.
 The British Merchant Navy was supreme from the close of the Napoleonic Wars until the era of cheaper operating costs that emerged under selected foreign flags some 150 years later. Scottish engineering, ship-owning and operating ships, as well as enterpreneurial and business, all played a big part in the brilliant success of the Merchant Navy. Scottish emigrants took skills with them to the ends of Empire that promoted trade and wealth creation both at home and overseas.
In terms of engineering, 'Clyde-built', was the one time 'Kitemark' for the shipbuilding industry the world over. The shipowners of Scotland included household names such as Allan, Henderson and Donaldson, while Scotsmen were also instrumental in founding, and for much of the time managing, Cunard, Orient, British India, Glen and many other well known "English" companies.
The story is traced from a variety of angles, even from the role of people such as David Livingstone in developing trade. The school of the 'Honest Scot' working in the City of London includes the iconic tale of the takeover 'merger' of P&O by British India. This book aims to stir the memory and rekindle interest in this fascinating part of the history of the British Merchant Navy during the preparation of the book.
 This book by Lawrence Cortesi has been already top rated by the readers and found to be very interesting and entertaining reading - this is a sort of novel about one of the most important naval battles in the South Pacific. The sea operation to which the present publication has been dedicated to, proved to be there among the critically important achievements reached by the American forces.
In fact, it was the very first time when the aircrafts operating from the bases on land and having no naval support attacked, have attacked and have managed to destroy a complete naval armada at sea. This is one of the best titles by Cortesi who is the author of dozens of interesting volumes. The book tells us a very interesting story, The author writes in quite fluid style pulling the readers quickly through the narrative text.
In fact, the whole content of the volume does not take you too long to read through, and the author has effectively fashioned all historical facts into a very final story. The author has provided a truly impressive list of the sources he used when preparing the book. Once again, the publication is very enjoyable and informative and that is the main reason why it gained so much of popularity among the readers. You can hardly find any other title that would contain so much of relevant information on the subject addressed in this book.
 Here is a very monumental retelling of the world history through the sea lens that was prepared and released to reveal in remarkable depth how humans first contacted with one another by water, i.e. by rivers and oceans, streams and lakes, and how various religions and cultures, languages and goods did spread along and across the waterways, connecting civilizations and defining what makes us human.
The publication is a rhapsodic narrative text covering the experience of the maritime enterprise. The author takes readers on a fascinating intellectual adventure making clear how the rises and falls of the human civilizations can be linked to the seas. The author has presented the maritime history of the world spanning from the ships recorded in the very primitive pictographs to the vessels of today, addressing every single regional arena of maritime activity and elevating the awareness of rivers and seas as important conduits between people and states throughout the whole history of the mankind.
The book contains a very good and informative discussion of the posture of the ancient human civilizations toward the sea and features the coverage if waning and waxing of the great empires as it could be evidenced in the exchange of various goods and vessels that were dealing with their transportation.
 A perfectly told story of the invaluable contribution made by the lightkeepers to the history of development of the lighthouses, combined with the maintenance of the navigation beacons where the human involvement is needed. Needless to say that the main function of the subject devices was the provision of the human safety.
As the employees working at the lighthouses were initially involved in their technical maintenance, they had to encounter a real wildlife and in some occasions they managed to develop the interest in the subject. Closer to the second part of the nineteenth century, they were to submit the annual reports of movement of the birds and the collected information as used by the specialists in their researches.
In addition to that, they were also used to engage in the weather forecasting activities. They noticed that the behavior and health o the birds could change depending on the weather conditions. Read this book if you are really interested in the maritime history; as everyone knows, the lighthouses have always been an integral part of the maritime life. the lanterns installed in the many of them are still in service, even in the age of satellite service, maintained and continuously monitored.
 The first edition of the present publication was released back in 1986 and provided a full treatment of all areas of the international marine industry belonging to the Classical world. It was actually prepared to be used by the scholars as well as the students as the supplementary reading. The author starts with the voyages dating the third millennium BC, and slowly proceeds to the more modern times.
He addresses the technical development of the design of the vessels, covering the various types of them; moreover, the author pays due attention to the shipping industry as a whole including its main purposed and how they used to be achieved throughout the history of marine navigation, as well as the conditions and status of the seamen. The volume also contains the results of thorough investigation of the historically important sea battles.
Numerous illustrations, images and plans supplement the narrative part of the volume. According to the author, his book shall be used by the people having interest in the ancient naval history. Take some time reading this book and you will get to know so much more about the history of maritime industry starting from the earliest times and with the focus done mainly on the classical period.
 This interesting volume describes the historical development of the science of marine navigation, and covers the entire period, starting from the very earliest times and up to today. The content was written by one of the leading specialists in the area and will be equally appreciated by the sailors and non-professionals. The author starts with the outline of the newly introduced methods, instruments, and practices.
The next several chapters are dealing with the most important navigational aspects, including the direction of the ship, distance and speed, nautical charts, and many others. The volume is the result of thorough research conducted by the author and combined with his great experience. Needless to say that the publication should be read by and recommended to anyone feeling himself interested with the ship navigation and handling.
It will be very useful to have an idea about the development of the particular methods of marine navigation to understand how exactly they work and how they shall be applied in a correct way. This is what the book is aimed to provide the readers with. It is written in a very readable way with little to no deep professional knowledge required.
 The main objective of the author of the present publication was to combine all available information relating to the shipping activities as well as to provide detailed explanation of their importance in the context of the maritime Britain of the medieval period. The volume will be of particular interest to the naval history enthusiast and particular those people who are dealing with the British history since it provides a truly brilliant historical background.
The first two sections of the book are devoted solely to the shipbuilding including the traditions in the northers seas, innovation and interaction. The technical aspects, such as the steering of the ships, their rigging and fitting is explained in the next section, followed by the one addressing maritime trade in the above mentioned historical period.
The inland water transport has been covered in a separate section and same approach has been applied to the ports. The sections on pilotage and ship navigation, and a good coverage of the ships in warfare conclude this excellent book. Note that there is also a good but quite compact glossary explaining all terms used throughout the publication and historical literature in general.
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