Sons of the Waves: The Common Seaman in the Heroic Age of Sail Hardcover – May 19, 2020

I have read histories of battles and admirals but this book tells the story from the perspective of the men that actually lit the fuses. I have always been curious about the day to day life and times of the individuals that until now were not represented by most history books. This book is a compendium of memoirs and autobiographies of sailors spanning a two hundred year period. The different experiences of each make for an interesting narrative that I found very entertaining.

The author's discovery and use of the accounts of those sailors who were not captains or high officials of the British navy sheds valuable light on the life, conditions, and dangers of the sailor in the age of sail. Those unfamiliar with the details of the ships of that era will find some of the terminology difficult; however, the text and the surprising writing of those who did not have the privilege of a formal education that the aristocrats had will keep the serious reader's interest.

meticulously researched and professionally written, I really enjoyed it. tough life for English sailors (for all sailors of the age but this book focuses on the few diaries available of Great Britain's). By turns gross, brutal and exhilarating, paints a picture of a life long gone. Hardships were numerous, service was often forced, many died.

Always fascinated by the past life of the common man as well as sailing ships of the past I couldn’t get this book in my hands fast enough and I was rewarded with a wonderful experience.Well researched and documented and a fun easy read that I throughly enjoyed.

Windy explication of British navy deckhands in Age of Sail, without the author breaking a sweat or using scissors.Bulk without brains.

I've read many a memoir of sailors of various stripes, including merchant-men, warships, whalers, sealers, pirates, explorers, scientists, and conquerors. [These were not as distinct as you might imagine.] This is as wonderful as any of them, and re-creates lost worlds with a vividness that almost makes us feel we were there. It tells great stories, introduces us to outstanding personalities, and afford us numerous insights, while pointing us towards some of the numerous primary accounts from which it draws. What more can I say?

I have read all the Patrick O’Brian novels at least twice, so I’m clearly a fan of tales of wooden ships and iron men. This book has two particular charms; (1) it is drawn from the writings of real men; (2) it gives a full and honest look at the lives of ordinary seamen, not the heroic captains and surgeons of books like O’Brian’s.Do not expect that the non-fiction aspect of the book will mean it is dull (other reviews to the contrary notwithstanding). It is a page-turner, and its real-life protagonists appear again and again over decades of life in the Royal Navy; with some side trips on Indiamen, prison ships, and even shipwrecks and near-founderings.The romance of the sea, which drew so many English landlubbers to the Navy, is a constant theme, along with her terrors.It’s true the book is long, and true there is some repetition due to returning again and again to the very limited number of autobiographies extant; but I would not have it one page shorter.Highly recommended for lovers of sea tales, British history, and the rare true tales of the lives of Jack Tars through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

"Sons of the Waves" is a history of the common British sailor during 1740-1840. This period witnessed the rise of the sailing ship to prominence up to the beginnings of steamships. The author quoted from the journals, memoirs, and letters of the common sailor and double checked these with the official records of the time, like ship logs and court records. He often picked vivid descriptions of exciting or unique events. He covered both merchant and Navy ships, wars, scientific voyages, shipwrecks, mutinies, trading, and topics like privateering, ship food, gear, and discipline, battle procedures and experiences, ship boys, press gangs, sailor's first visits to China, India, and various islands, disease, living conditions, shore leave, sailor's families, wages and reforms, pensions, and the naval battles against the slave trade. Overall, this book was both informative and interesting to read. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this topic.I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This book shows, probably for the first time, what life was like for the ordinary sailors in the 'classic era' of dominance for the Royal Navy I the age of sail. Admirals and captains make appearances but only when they interact with the sailors. Nelson, for example, has most of time in the book as the man who Tom was the servant for.The approach is chronological but there are also themes for chapters, both of which work well together. Both of these, and the surprisingly large number of sources, make this book both easy and pleasing to read. I did feel that the second half of the book marginally drifted slightly, but this is only a reflection of the high standard of the book. That said, the coverage of the mutinies of 1797 was exceptional. Moreover, it doesn't just stop at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but continues until the 1840s.I think the best way to describe this is to think of it as a companion piece to NAM Rodger (either as a follow on to his Wooden Walls or Command of the Ocean) combined with an aquatic version of Richard Holmes masterly Redcoat or Tommy. Yes, it is that good to mention these titles alongside it.

I loved the way he followed the same people in different chapters. Jacob Nagle spent nearly all of his 78 years at sea in different craft, navies and merchantmen. For a very brief period in 1802 he and his wife and 2 children lived in Oporto. Then follows one of the saddest sentences I've ever read, ' My wife and children took the fever and in six weeks i was left alone." A marvellous book.

This book is interesting, but so disorganised. It needs editing again, with themes being made more obvious, more sensible ordering of the chapters and some explanations of naval terminology e.g. the parts of the ships/ sails etc. If you are already knowledgeable about naval history and what bits of a ship are called then you are going to enjoy it more as it won't be so baffling. It is a ramble through stories /autobiographies of various sailors of old, but need pulling together in a much more convincing way.

A book that gives us new insight into the way the wooden navy operated. To see life in that navy from the viewpoint of the common seaman provides a refreshing revelation into what life was like for those men. The incredible hardships they faced, the lack of appreciation from the authorities really underscores the debt we owe those men who helped to make Britain the naval power it became.

The book is written in a chronological format, involving endless and tedious repetition. The book would have been better written in a subect format - details of the sailing ships; the sailors in peace and war; Government attitudes; punishment and so forth. I did not manage to get to the end as I found it so tedious. It is a scholarly work, but the tedious presentation spoils it