Jack Tar, the review

[PMarione]

If you have a casual interest in History, this is a book for you.
If you are Jack Aubrey freak, this is a book for you.
If you are a history fan, this is a book for you.

During the Great War (1793-1815), the Royal Navy was the backbone of the defence of the British Isles and took a major part in the final victory.
Just as the great battles from Valmi to Waterloo were won by the troops in the field, the naval battles were in the end won by the crews - and not by the Nelsons, Hoods or Cochranes.

Roy and Lesley Adkins have worked like the archaeologists they are, unearthing hundreds of sources, extracting hundreds of relevant pieces, then carefully glueing them together until the whole image is reconstructed: the portrait of rough, hard-working men (women and children) living a perilous life on board a primitive, claustrophobic machine in a hostile environment.
Apart from the constant danger from man and nature, ships' companies appear more like small rural communities than the "rum, lash and sodomy" society depicted in "miserabilist" books like Masefield's one.
Jack Tar was no saint but the product of the very harsh 18th-century society. His voice is seldom heard in history books.
When you turn the last page, you'll have envisioned the complete life of Jack Tar from his entry as Johnny Newcome to his later life in Greenwich hospital (if he was lucky), told in his own words.

If you have no previous knowledge of the naval history of the period, don't worry, Roy and Lesley have everything at hand for you: maps, diagrams, explanation of all the nautical terms you'll need.

On a critical point of view, I'll say that this book deserved a far better design and layout and certainly much better quality illustrations: they look like very bad b&w prints of a book of the 50's.

If you read only one book this year, I'll not say read Jack Tar (the "Life and Deeds of Sarah Palin" will certainly be a better choice) - but if you read only one book of history this year that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of HN, read Jack Tar.

@+P

You can pre-order the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jack-Tar-Life-Nelsons-Navy/dp/1408700549/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220745106&sr=1-1

[PMarione]

More on Jack Tar:

http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Blog/September-2008/Happy-Birthday,-Nelson

[PMarione]

More reviews:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1088388/The-toughest-roughest--women-war.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1090271/Rattling-good-reads-NON-FICTION-ROUND-UP.html

[Roy Adkins]

Very cleverly, the publisher has allowed Jack Tar to go out of print. It is still available in many bookstores, but not online! What a brilliant thing to do just before Christmas.... The book is currently being reprinted, and copies are supposedly due in today.

[PMarione]

It's good news if they printed a first run of 100,000 copies but stupid anyway.
Problem with publishers is that they are not interested in books (or music), just in money but with no books to sale it's even bad for their money.

@+P

[Roy Adkins]

I have a slight suspicion that the initial print run was not 100,000... But I have just discovered that you can buy the book online with some newspapers, such as the Daily Mail. Try:
http://www.mailbookshop.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10351_24001_139164_100_24609_24609_category_24609

Roy

[PMarione]

On Amazon.fr you can find it trough the_book_depository__uk.

[PMarione]

A talk by Roy and Lesley at the Theatre Royal in Bath on 6 February:
http://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/whats-on/special-events

Lunch: Fillet of haddock with a lemon and parsley butter, new potatoes and mixed leaves; chocolate torte with cream; coffee

[Peter]

Jack Tar has been reprinted again, and it is selling fast so don't miss out.