Some new books added to my library

Over the past week or so I’ve taken delivery of three books that filled definite holes in my naval history library. They are:

• THE WINDFALL BATTLESHIPS: AGINCOURT, CANADA, ERIN, EAGLE AND THE BALKAN & LATIN-AMERICAN ARMS RACES
• BRITISH BATTLESHIPS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA
• BRITISH CRUISERS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

These books were recommended tome by the naval historian Toby Ewin and my fellow blogger David Crook … and they are excellent!

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THE WINDFALL BATTLESHIPS: AGINCOURT, CANADA, ERIN, EAGLE AND THE BALKAN & LATIN-AMERICAN ARMS RACES

The book's contents are as follows:

• Preface
• Introduction
• Abbreviations and Conventions
• 1. August 1914 and Beyond
• 2. The Latin-American Connection
• 3. The Balkan Connection
• 4. With the Grand Fleet
• 5. Alternative Service: Erin, Canada, and Agincourt
• 6. Alternative Service: Eagle
• 7. Ends and New Beginnings
• 8. The Ageing Queens of Latin America
• 9. Retrospect
• Appendix: Warships Under Construction for Foreign Customers in August 1914
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index

This is a very comprehensive history of the naval arms races that were taking place in the Balkans and Latin America during the early years of the twentieth century, and is lavishly illustrated with photographs and line drawings of the ships. many of the latter were drawn by John Jordan and Ian Sturton, both of whom are well-known to students of naval history.

I am very glad that I have added this book to my collection ... and in my opinion, the appendix alone was worth what I paid for the book. It lists the seventy-six warships being built in France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States for Austria-Hungary, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, and Turkey, and records their ultimate fates.

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BRITISH BATTLESHIPS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

The book's contents are as follows:

• List of Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• 1. British Strategy And The Admiralty
• 2. Revolutions In Ship design
• 3. Racing The French
• 4. The Reed Era: Monster Guns
• 5. The Captain Disaster And The Committee On Designs
• 6. A New Kind Of Warship
• Colour Section: Original Admiralty Draughts
• 7. The Naval Defence Act
• 8. A Continuing Programme
• 9. The Export Market
• 10. The Victorian Battle Fleet At Sea
• Notes
• bibliography
• Ship Data
• Ship List
• Index

Any book covering the history and development of British battleships is inevitably going to be compared with the book written by the late Dr Oscar Parkes. His book BRITISH BATTLESHIPS: WARRIOR, 1860 TO VANGUARD, 1950. A HISTORY OF DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND ARMAMENT is regarded by many – me included – as the definitive source of information about the subject. So. how do the two books compare?

Well, in my opinion, BRITISH BATTLESHIPS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA tells the history of the development of the British battleship during that period rather well indeed. It is well illustrated, and I especially liked the fold-out colour section in the middle of the book. It is also a somewhat lighter tome and easier to read when seated in one's favourite armchair, although I did find some of the type rather small. It is also available to buy for less than £20.00 on the second-hand market whereas the cheapest price I could find for Dr Parkes's book was £45.00 ... and the most expensive was in excess of £200.00!

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BRITISH CRUISERS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA

The book's contents are as follows:

• Acknowledgements
• Illustrator's Notes
• Introduction
• 1. Steam, Sail and Wooden Hulls
• 2. Iron Hulls
• 3. The First Armoured Cruisers
• 4. Fast Steel Cruisers
• 5. Torpedo And Small Cruisers
• 6. Big Cruisers To Protect Commerce
• 7. The Fast Wing Of The Battle Fleet
• Appendix: Vickers Designs
• 8. Epilogue: Fisher's Revolution
• Bibliography
• Notes
• Data List (Specifications)
• List Of Ships
• Abbreviations
• Index

The steam-powered cruiser was the equivalent of the frigate that was used during the Age of Sail. They were designed and built to serve a variety of purposes, ranging from showing the flag to protecting the nation's commerce from attacks by enemy warships. Some were even destined to form part of the main battle fleet where they were destined to serve as scouts and to even engage enemy heavy units.

This book tells the story of the development of the British cruiser from its earliest days until the First World War. It is well illustrated with photographs and line drawings and describes in some detail each of the classes and types of cruiser that were built. It also covers the designs built for foreign navies – such as the heavily-armed and fast Elswick-built cruisers – that influenced the development of the British cruisers.

Although it was written and published before Dr Friedman's book about British battleships, it is an excellent companion publication and one that I have no hesitation in recommending.

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THE WINDFALL BATTLESHIPS: AGINCOURT, CANADA, ERIN, EAGLE AND THE BALKAN & LATIN-AMERICAN ARMS RACES was written by Professor Aidan Dodson and published in 2023 by Seaforth Publishing (ISBN 978 1 3990 6322 7).

BRITISH BATTLESHIPS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA was written by Norman Friedman and published in 2018 by Seaforth Publishing (ISBN 978 1 5267 0325 5).

BRITISH CRUISERS OF THE VICTORIAN ERA was written by Norman Friedman (with drawings by A B Baker III) and published in 2012 by Seaforth Publishing (ISBN 978 1 8483 2099 4).