Product Description

From the man described by Amanda Foreman as 'one of the most eminent naval historians of our age' comes the story of how this country's maritime power helped Britain gain unparalleled dominance of the world's economy. Told through the lives of ten of our most remarkable admirals, Andrew Lambert's book spans Elizabethan times to the Second World War, culminating with the spirit which led Andrew Browne Cunningham famously to declare, when the army feared he would lose too many ships, 'it takes three years to build a ship; it takes three centuries to build a tradition'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #114536 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 512 pages

About the Author
Andrew Lambert is Professor of Naval History at King's College, London, and has been described as 'the outstanding British naval historian of his generation' (David Cannadine). His books include Trincomalee: The Last of Nelson's Frigates and The Foundations of Naval History, and his highly successful history of the British Navy, War at Sea, was broadcast on BBC2.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic revisionist history
Admirals is a fascinating read, making a revisionist case for the most important admirals in British history. Out go Drake, Nelson and Jellicoe. In come James II, Geoffrey Hornby and Andrew Cunningham. It is a tour d'horizon of the makings of the modern Royal Navy, but very much in the "Great Men" mould.

Professor Lambert's analysis is lucid, broad-brush, yet steeped in sources. He is equally at home with Tudor correspondence and twentieth century politics. Through the lives of 11 men, he helps us understand the signifaicant evolutions that transformed a ramshackle assortment of hired vessels and converted merchantmen into the professional modern Navy.

Highly recommended.

Enthralling
I decided to read this book on the grounds that I didn't feel I knew enough about English and British history beyond what I'd watched in TV documentaries. The information it has bestowed upon me I feel has been clear, concise, relevant and unbiased. The journey though the centuries of naval history via the lives of the men who shaped it has been enthralling. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to understand why Nelson was possibly the best, but who helped him become that and who he inspired in return.

Fisher, Beatty and Cunningham have provided a different view upon a time in history that is too often portrayed as the time of land and then air. I will certainly be backing up this recent read with more, but maybe varied, reading.