Naval Weapons of World War I: Stand up and be counted

Naval and military history books, recent releases, magazines, related documents, articles, etc.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

100 bucks is nothing for good information. Yesterday I received a two volume meteorology book. The price? 100 bucks EACH.
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Post by Tiornu »

You're fortunate indeed if $100 is nothing to you. To most of the reading public, it's prohibitively expensive, especially for a smallish book entirely without photographs. Fortunately Routledge eventually started a paperback line and included the Brooks book, but the cost of the paperback is pretty steep too, as I recall.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

I didn´t say 100 bucks is nothing, but that IS NOTHING FOR GOOD INFORMATION. You must understand that books are the longest lasting property: may be you have them after 40 years, but surely you will not own the same house or car after that term.
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Post by RF »

marcelo_malara wrote: You must understand that books are the longest lasting property: may be you have them after 40 years, but surely you will not own the same house or car after that term.
Books unfortunately are perishable, property is not. I have lived in the same house for the last 48 years, I have a books printed in the 1920's and 1930's inherited from my parents, and I think the house will outlive me and the books.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

The house may be, that car sure not.
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RF
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Post by RF »

marcelo_malara wrote:The house may be, that car sure not.
That's true.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
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Terje Langoy
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Post by Terje Langoy »

Some time has passed since we announced our interest in Campbell's Naval Weapons of World War One and so I found the time right to see if any of you has received more info on the progress with the publisher since then. It has been silent here.
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Post by Tiornu »

The death of DK Brown has severely reduced the chances of this getting done. He was the one person connected to all the necessary parties.
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Terje Langoy
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Post by Terje Langoy »

That was indeed unfortunate, Richard. I'm not especially familiar with naval authors but assume DK Brown to be David Brown who also edited some of the Naval Staff Histories for Cass. I have this absolutely superb book, Naval Operations of the Campaign of Norway, of which David Brown was the editor and must say that it he should have passed away its very sad news.
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Post by Tiornu »

There are two David Browns. One is the historian you ention. The other is DK Brown, a Royal Navy ship designer whom Antony Preston convinced to become a writer back in the 1970's. DKB is the only person to have writings in every volume of the Warship journal. (This will continue to next year with the posthumous publication of his final Warship article.) As a designer and a sea-going RN officer, DKB had a unique perspective on RN ships, ranging from design issues to personal anecdotes. (I believe it was when he was hopping off a bunk in a British destroyer that his foot went through the deck plate. A little problem with rust....) He is responsible for seven titles currently on my bookshelves. His final book was Atlantic Convoys, which I recommend as a fine overview of the British developments in WWII oceanic escort. He was a nice gentleman who answered every e-mail I sent him (which was rather a lot).
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Terje Langoy
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Post by Terje Langoy »

First of all I must offer my sincere apologies to the living David Brown. Obviously my assumptions were wrong.

This book you mention, Atlantic Convoys, could you be so kind and provide a more specified focus of that book? You see, "British developments in WWII oceanic escort" unfortunately doesn't tell me that much. Is it for example a book dedicated to the naval weaponry and technology of the escort ship (I'm thinking of things such as Asdic and Hedgehog) or does he focus on the strategical aspects such as the forming of an effective convoy system?
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Post by Tiornu »

The primary focus is on the ships and how the designs came into service. Details of the weaponry are given as well, along with key developments in tactics. So you see why I describe it as an overview--it covers a lot. It does not give a comlpete history, but it does present specific episodes that illustrate the ships, systems, and tactics in use. It is definitely RN-centric, and I understand that NIP prevented the appearance of the word "British" in the title.
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Post by Terje Langoy »

I just found the book at Amazon, listed as Atlantic Escorts by DK Brown. You're right, it seems an interesting piece of work. He also had another title listed, From Nelson to Vanguard, which definitely seems to be my cup of tea. I have my mind set that large portions of this book would have to cover the KGV's. Is this perhaps a book represented in your bookshelf and if so, would you recommend it?
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Post by Tiornu »

Brown wrote a set of four or five books, and their titles tell you where they fit chronologically. Warrior to Dreadnought, The Grand Fleet, and Nelson to Vanguard--those are the three I own. There's also a post-WWII volume and maybe an earlier volume. These are great books about the process of designing the ships. They do not necessarily give a systematic look at any one design, and in some ways it may be better to view the books as a volume of anecdotes and episodes rather than a comprehensive history. In any case, they are all highly recommended--stuff you won't find elsewhere. Closely related and almost as good, the three-volume Design and Construction of British Warships sticks mostly with WWII ships. I think it's out of print. If you get Nelson to Vanguard, you can probably get by without the D&C series.
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Re: Naval Weapons of World War I: Stand up and be counted

Post by marcelo_malara »

There are two chronologically previous volumes: Before the ironclad (which covers the period pre-Warrior, http://www.amazon.com/Before-Ironclad-D ... 176&sr=1-1) and Paddle warships (http://www.amazon.com/Paddle-Warships-E ... 116&sr=1-1).

I own Warrior to Dreadnought and The Grand Fleet. As Tiornu said he doesn´t describe every class of warship, but the books are quiet technical and highly readable. Moreover, I got those two volumes, edited by Caxton, by less than 10 pounds each.

Regards
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