Naval

The bestselling complete history of the British Navy - our national story through a different prism.The story of our navy is nothing less than the story of Britain, our culture and our empire. Much more than a parade of admirals and their battles, this...

Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and winner of the Royal Society Prize for Science Books, Richard Holmes's dazzling portrait of the age of great scientific discovery is a groundbreaking achievement. The book opens with Joseph Banks,...

As remarkable as Columbus and the conquistador expeditions, the history of Portuguese exploration is now almost forgotten. But Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India and beat...

The final instalment of N.A.M. Rodger's definitive, authoritative trilogy on Britain's naval historyAt the end of the French and Napoleonic wars, British sea-power was at its apogee. But by 1840, as one contemporary commentator put it, the Admiralty...

A detailed account of the war-winning role that a handful of Harrier squadrons played in the Falklands War. On 5 April 1982, the British aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible sailed for the South Atlantic at the heart of the task force that would...

'There is no danger that Titanic will sink. The boat is unsinkable and nothing but inconvenience will be suffered by the passengers.' - Phillip Franklin, White Star Line Vice-PresidentOn April 15th, 1912, Titanic, the world's largest passenger ship, sank...

The definitive account of the rise and fall of the iconic Concorde plane from British Airways' former Chief Concorde Pilot'A remarkable story' DAILY EXPRESS'A stonking good read' FLYER_________What's it like to fly faster than a bullet?Could you really...

The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and government. It describes not just battles, voyages...

'James Holland is the best of the new generation of WW2 historians.' Sebastian Faulks'Holland's skill lies in bringing these warriors to life with vivid prose.' The TimesShortlisted for the 2021 British Army Military Book of the...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A terrific book ... It really is one of the most enjoyable histories I've read in many a year' JAMES HOLLAND 'Riveting ... A brilliant account' DAILY MAIL ...

Despite a supreme belief in itself, the Royal Navy of the early eighteenth century was becoming over-confident and outdated, and it had more than its share of disasters and miscarriages including the devastating sickness in Admiral Hosier's fleet in...

'Utterly brilliant: a fantastically exciting book... This really does read like the best kind of thriller. His best book yet'James Holland, author of Normandy '44April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.In response, Britain despatches a naval...

January 1972: the tiny outpost of British Honduras is threatened with imminent invasion by battle-hardened, US-trained Guatemalan paratroops. Britain's response must be immediate and decisive. But there is only one deterrent the government can offer: HMS...

The Sunday Times bestseller 'One of the most dramatic forgotten chapters of the war, as told in a new book by the incomparable Max Hastings' DAILY MAIL In August 1942, beleaguered Malta was within weeks of surrender to the Axis,...

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'Kershaw's book is a welcome rebalancing; a thoughtful, well-researched and well-written contribution to a narrative that has long been too one-sided and too mired in national mythology.' - The Times The British evacuation from the beaches of the...

The Midway-class were the US Navy's biggest carriers built during World War II. Superbly illustrated, this explains how they became the backbone of the Cold War fleet. Entering service in September 1945, the Midway-class aircraft carrier was the US...

The 2024 edition of Warship, the celebrated annual publication featuring original research on the history, development, and service of the world's warships. For over 45 years, Warship has been the leading annual resource on the design, development,...

A follow-up to the author’s highly regarded history of British ‘Town’ class cruisers, this book takes the same approach, combining coverage of the development, design details and career highlights of the original class as well as the Uganda, Minotaur and...

Updated for the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War, this is the bestselling, highly-acclaimed and most famous account of the conflict, written by the commander of the British Task Force. On 5 April 1982, three days after the invasion of the...

Reissued for the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War.A Sunday Times Bestseller'Electric... Outstanding.' GuardianIn March 1982 the guided-missile destroyer HMS Coventry was one of a small squadron of ships on exercise off Gibraltar. By the end of April...

For centuries, battleships provided overwhelming firepower at sea. They were not only a major instrument of warfare, but a visible emblem of a nation's power, wealth and pride. The rise of the aircraft carrier following the Japanese aerial strike on...

The forgotten story of the major naval operations conducted in the Philippines by the US and Japanese navies after Leyte Gulf up to the US invasion of Luzon in January 1945. The events that took place in the aftermath of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in...

The starting point of Roger Knight's magnificent new biography is to explain how Nelson achieved such extraordinary success. Knight places him firmly in the context of the Royal Navy at the time. He analyses Nelson's more obvious qualities, his...

Throughout Britain's history, one factor above all others has determined the fate of the nation: its navy. N. A. M. Rodger's definitive account reveals how the political and social progress of Britain has been inextricably intertwined with the strength -...

'Excellent' Antony Beevor 'Saul David is a brilliant historian ... In shocking and jaw-dropping detail, he brings a battle that deserves far greater prominence and understanding vividly back to life'...

'An epic tale of exploration, daring and tragedy told by a fine historian - and a wonderful writer' - Peter Frankopan, author of the bestselling The Silk Roads. 'The name of William Barents isn't that familiar to us these days...but this enthralling,...

The first book to examine the battleship-led 1941 Pacific Fleet as it was intended to fight. Packed with illustrations, this study explains how the US Navy saw the approaching war unfolding. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet was...

The Royal Navy entered World War II with a large but eclectic fleet of destroyers. Some of these were veterans of World War I, fit only for escort duties. Most though, had been built during the inter-war period, and were regarded as both reliable and...

From the Great Exhibition's showcasing of British national achievement in 1851 to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Stratford in 2012 and on to Brexit, an insightful exploration of the transformation of modern BritainThis revised and updated...

This fully illustrated study details Germany and Italy's failed development of World War II aircraft carriers, and the naval aviation ships that the two Axis powers sent into action in their place. The quest for a modern aircraft carrier was the...

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER - REISSUED WITH A NEW FOREWORD FOR THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY 'Magnificent, vivid, moving, superb' Max Hastings, Sunday Times ______________This is the closest you will ever get to war - the taste, the smell, the noise and the fear...

The latest edition of Warship, the celebrated annual publication featuring the latest research on the history, development, and service of the world's warships. For over 45 years, Warship has been the leading annual resource on the design,...

A celebrated annual publication featuring the latest research on history, development, and service of the world's warships. For 45 years, Warship has been the leading annual resource on the design, development, and deployment of the world's combat...

The German battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz had brutally short careers. The Bismarck was sunk by the Home Fleet on her first operational sortie in May 1941. But the Tirpitz, hiding in Norwegian fjords, remained a menace to Allied convoys and tied down...

The first account of Britain's convoys during the Napoleonic Wars-showing how the protection of trade played a decisive role in victory During the Napoleonic Wars thousands of merchant ships crisscrossed narrow seas and wide oceans, protected by...

The story of the Mulberry harbours must rank among the most remarkable to emerge from the Second World War. In terms of engineering achievement, it is surely one of the greatest of all time.Allied planners correctly anticipated that the Germans would...

On the warm night of 18 August 1942, a flotilla pushed out into the flat water of the Channel. They were to seize the German-held port of Dieppe, destroy key installations, seize intelligence material and then sail for home.This was the greatest...

For centuries, ships' commanders kept journals that recorded their missions. These included voyages of discovery to unknown lands, engagements in war and sea and general trade. Many of their logs, diaries and letters were lodged at The National Archives...

The period of relative peace enjoyed by the Roman Empire in its first two centuries ended with the Marcomannic Wars. The following centuries saw near-constant warfare, which brought new challenges for the Roman Navy. It was now not just patrolling the...