Product Description

At the height of the Second World War this small pocket-book was issued to all ratings on board ships of the Royal Navy. In straight period prose it outlines all the basic expressions and tasks a seaman needed to know to perform his duties efficiently. Chapters are broken down into: Sea Terms; Navigation; Steering the Ship; Rigging; Anchors and Cables; Boatwork; Miscellaneous (which includes details on uniform and folding a hammock, etc); and Ship Safety. Functional black line illustrations are used throughout, as well as a few pages of colour (used sparingly) for flag recognition. Faithfully reproduced, with a short introduction by Brian Lavery, which explains the importance of a book like this to a navy that had to take on vast numbers of civilians or Hostilities. Only men to meet the manning needs of the war, this volume provides a real mixture of wartime nostalgia and historical authenticity. It makes a world now lost to us accessible again, explaining as it does the terms, skills and conventions of ship board life, a life that required a common language, and where failure to respond to orders instantly could mean the difference between life and death. The book is sure to appeal to those who served in the war as well as the current generation who are becoming increasingly interested in the role their grandparents, fathers and uncles played during that time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #68946 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

About the Author
Brian Lavery is one of Britain's leading naval historians. His published works include the bestselling Nelson's Navy, the two-volume Ship of the Line, the highly successful Jack Aubrey Commands and The Island Nation. His latest work, Churchill's Navy, which considers the ships, men and organisation of the navy during the Second World War, is due to be published in September 2006.

Customer Reviews

Excellent reprint
This book is a reprint of a genuine admiralty pocketbook for the average seaman. It seems to be a very faithful reproduction, the hardcover binding is excellent, and the size is very convenient.

It was written to explain the most important aspects of seamanship to a total novice, a book he could tuck into his pocket and refer to if he was uncertain about something. There are no arcane terms or information that you can't find anywhere else, but it does contain all the non-specialist knowledge a seaman would need.

I personally find it very useful as a reference handbook, if there is some term or idea I'm not sure about I can check the index or the chapter list and I'm sure to find it.

A Seamans Pocket Book
I am a tall ship sailor as well as a volunteer at a museum ship and was in need of some information of general interest about ships and sea life. I found this book a mine of information and handy to read. The only thing which was not helpful to me was all the info on code flags as the Royal Navy system is totally different to the international code of flags used in the merchant navy.