Brian Lavery – författare

'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 after colliding with an iceberg, claiming more than 1,500 lives. Walter Lord's classic bestselling history of the voyage, the wreck and the aftermath is a tour de force of detailed investigation and the upstairs/downstairs divide. A Night to Remember provides a vivid, gripping and deeply personal account of the 'unsinkable' Titanic's descent.WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY JULIAN FELLOWES

Skepp - 5 000 år av äventyr till sjöss är ett omfattande verk över människans maritima historia, från de första båtarna fram till dagens moderna fartyg. Här avslöjas dramat bakom de storslagna äventyren till sjöss med fakta om forskningsexpeditioner, sjöslag och kryssningsfartyg - alltsammans rikt illustrerat. Brian Lavery har skrivit en fängslande bok med historier om otroliga äventyr kombinerat med en enorm detaljrikedom kring olika båtar och skepp. I faktaavsnitten finns bland annat konstruktioner av typfartyg, från de antika galärerna till moderna krigsfartyg, medan andra ritningar tar dig under däck med rundvandringar på skepp såsom Susan Constant, som transporterade de första europeiska nybyggarna till Nordamerika, linjeskeppet HMS Victory och den kärnvapenladdade ubåten USS Nautilus - alla utmärkta exempel på sin tids teknik. Vidare behandlas maritimt inflytande på handel, industri och samhälle, och även gripande berättelser om krigen till sjöss återges. Varje avsnitt är kompletterat med biografier och ögonvittnesskildringar från människor som befunnit sig ombord vid de aktuella händelserna. Följ med på en respektingivande och häpnadsväckande resa i sjöfarandets förflutna. Det här är berättelsen om människans största maritima äventyr och tekniska framsteg och imponerande bragder, både ovan och under vattenytan. BRIAN LAVERY är intendent på National Maritime Museum i Greenwich. Han har bland annat skrivit två böcker om Amiral Nelson och dennes flotta. Han konsulterades under inspelningen av filmen Master and Commander - bortom världens ände och rådfrågades vid replikabyggena av Kapten Cooks Endeavour och emigrantskeppet Susan Constant. "Det är verkligen ett skickligt utnyttjande av 400 sidor [...] Har sällan sett så mycket välillustrerade och kommenterade fakta på ett så begränsat utrymme." Mats Garme, Ölandsbladet

Discover over 5000 years of seafaring history, packed with first-hand accounts of triumphs and disastersA fascinating journey through more than 5,000 years of seafaring history in this essential guide to the most impressive seafaring tales, explorers, and maritime environments. For more than 5,000 years, the seas have challenged, rewarded, and punished the brave sailors who set forth to explore it. This history of the seas and sailing tells the remarkable story of those individuals - whether they lived to tell the tale themselves or not. From the early Polynesian seafarers and the first full circumnavigations of the globe, to explorers picking their way through the coral reefs of the West Indies, this book tells the compelling story of life at sea that lies behind man's search for new lands, new trade, conquest, and uncharted waters. Charting the great milestones of nautical history from the discovery of America to the establishment of the Royal Navy, the naval history of the American Civil War, the Battle of Midway and modern piracy the book sets all of them in their cultural and historical context.Previously published as The Conquest of the Ocean, A Short History of Seafaring is a unique compendium of awe-inspiring tales of epic sea voyages and great feats of seamanship, navigation, endurance, and ingenuity.

First published in 1998, this volume explores the Royal Navy which had most of its greatest triumphs in the decades up to 1815, but has received relatively little study of its social life and shipboard administration, beyond popular myth and sensational accounts. This volume starts with the formal structure of naval discipline, with Admiralty instructions and captains' orderbooks. It then looks at how things really happened, using diaries, medical journals, petitions, court martial reports and even the menu book of a semi-literate steward. It reveals many strong characters and colourful incidents of shipboard life, while providing material for study.

First published in 1998, this volume explores the Royal Navy which had most of its greatest triumphs in the decades up to 1815, but has received relatively little study of its social life and shipboard administration, beyond popular myth and sensational accounts. This volume starts with the formal structure of naval discipline, with Admiralty instructions and captains' orderbooks. It then looks at how things really happened, using diaries, medical journals, petitions, court martial reports and even the menu book of a semi-literate steward. It reveals many strong characters and colourful incidents of shipboard life, while providing material for study.

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 1727; failure at Cartagena, and an embarrassing action off Toulon in 1744\. Anson's great circumnavigation, though presented as a triumph, was achieved at huge cost in ships and lives. And in 1756 Admiral Byng was shot after failure off Minorca.In this new book, the bestselling author Brian Lavery shows how, through reforms and the determined focus of a number of personalities, that navy was transformed in the middle years of the eighteenth century. The tide had already begun to turn with victories off Cape Finisterre in 1747, and in 1759 the navy played a vital part in the 'year of victories' with triumphs at Lagos and Quiberon Bay; and it conducted amphibious operations as far afield as Cuba and the Philippines, and took Quebec. The author explains how it was fundamentally transformed from the amateurish, corrupt and complacent force of the previous decades. He describes how it acquired uniforms and a definite rank structure for officers; and developed new ship types such as the 74 and the frigate. It instigated a more efficient (if equally brutal) method of recruiting seamen, and boosted morale and motivation and a far more aggressive style of fighting. The coppering of ships' hulls and the solving of the problems associated with longitude and scurvy, were also hugely significant steps.Much of this transformation was due to the forceful if enigmatic personality of George, Lord Anson. In a largely static society, he changed the navy so that it was fit for purpose, and in readiness for Nelson just decades later. Using a mass of archival evidence and a mix of official reports and personal reminiscences, this book offers a fascinating and engrossing analysis of all these far-reaching reforms, which in turn led to the radical transformation of Britain's navy into a truly global force. The consequential effect on the world's history would be huge.

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world, many of which are official, contemporary artefacts made by the craftsmen of the navy or the shipbuilders themselves, and ranging from the mid seventeenth century to the present day. As such they represent a three-dimensional archive of unique importance and authority. Treated as historical evidence, they offer more detail than even the best plans, and demonstrate exactly what the ships looked like in a way that even the finest marine painter could not achieve.This book takes a selection of the best models to both describe and demonstrate the development of warship construction in all its complexity from the beginning of the 18th century to the end of wooden shipbuilding. For this purpose it reproduces a large number of model photos, all in full colour, and including many close-up and detail views. These are captioned in depth, but many are also annotated to focus attention on interesting or unusual features, which can be shown far more clearly than described. Although pictorial in emphasis, the book weaves the pictures into an authoritative text, producing an unusual and attractive form of technical history. This new and affordable paperback edition will appeal to naval historians and model makers everywhere.'Students of naval history will find this book invaluable for understanding how Great Britain maintained its maritime pre-eminence through the long eighteenth century, while those looking to understand and to revive ancient crafts have a comprehensive, readily intelligible, and lavishly illustrated guidebook. Brian Lavery has demonstrated that the printed book is as flexible and as user-friendly a medium as the tablet and the television' Australian Naval Institute

The title is derived from George Bernard Shaw's comment that England and America are two countries divided by a common language.' It is not intended to imply that the two navies were seriously at odds with one another, but rather to suggest, as in the case of language, that common roots and usages varied significantly. And the Second World War is a pertinent moment for comparison. They fought on the same side against a common enemy for nearly four years, but Britain fought the war for the survival of itself and its empire, though in the long term it failed with the latter, while the American government fought to maintain its influence through the balance of power; its people fought for revenge for Pearl Harbor, and out of a sense of justice.In this new book, Brian Lavery describes and analyses the differences and similarities between the two navies and in doing so sheds fascinating light on how the naval war was fought. For example, both navies had spectacular failures after entering the war - the Royal Navy off Norway, the USN at Pearl Harbor and Savo Island. Paradoxically, both commenced the war with quite amateur performances by professional navies and ended with highly skilled performances by largely amateur manned forces. The training systems for regular officers had flaws in both countries. In Britain, entry was largely dependent on family income, in America, on political influence. But American officers probably had a broader perspective by the time they entered active service. The book covers ships and weapons systems - for instance, the British used too many gun types in the 4 to 6in range, while the Americans concentrated on the well-designed 5in. And the author describes conditions onboard ships. British vessels were awash with alcohol, which had its attractions for Americans when alongside; the Americans offered ice cream in return.These examples represent only a tiny proportion of the subjects covered in this stimulating analysis. Aviation, the marines of both navies, anti-submarine and mine warfare, uniforms, propulsion systems, shipbuilding and building programmes, commanders and national leaders, ratings and officers, ship design, geographical environments, naval bases, hammocks and bunks, the deployment of women - these are among the myriad big and small themes that will open the eyes of naval historians and enthusiasts, and show anyone with an interest in the Second World War how these two great allies came together to defeat the Axis forces.

From the time of the Restoration of Charles II, when he returned to England from Breda and was presented with the yacht Mary by the burgomaster of Amsterdam, Royal yachts began to be defined as such in England and built with that special purpose in mind. They were built luxuriously and used for royal visits to the fleet, for diplomacy and for racing and cruising for pleasure.Charles II took more of an interest in the sea than any other English monarch. He built a fleet of royal yachts, fine examples of ship design and decorative art, and he can be said to have been the father of yachting and of royal yachts. His successors were less keen on the sea but travelled to Europe on missions of peace and war; and royal yachts took part in regime change several times. In 1689 Queen Mary was bought over to join her husband William of Orange and complete the Glorious Revolution'. In 1714 George I arrived from Hanover to establish a new dynasty. And in 1814, in a reverse process, King Louis XVIII was taken back to France to restore the monarchy after the defeat of Napoleon.This important new book is the first to describe the building and decoration of the yachts in such detail, using many newly discovered sources; and it is the first to describe their uses and exploits, often taking their royal passengers into controversy or danger. Besides the yachts themselves, it reveals much about the character of the kings, queens and princes involved - the impetuousness of the future William IV for example, or his brother George IV's surprising love of sailing. It describes the design, accommodation, and sailing of the yachts, as well as their captains and crews.Sailing yachts came to an end when Queen Victoria discovered that steam power was more efficient as well as more comfortable, but they revived in the form of her son Edward's cutter Britannia, and the Duke of Edinburgh's Bloodhound and Coweslip. Their legacy can be seen in the widespread sport of yachting today, and in the lavish superyachts of billionaires.This beautifully illustrated book, full of anecdote and containing detailed descriptions of dozens of royal yachts, will fascinate naval historians, ship modellers and, indeed, anyone who sets foot aboard the deck of a modern yacht.

'The art of command is…to be the complete master, and yet the complete friend of every man on board; the temporal lord and yet the spiritual brother of every rating; to be detached and yet not dissociated.'A Seaman's Pocket-Book, 1943 has found huge appeal with the British public. Presented in the same format, The Royal Navy Officer's Pocket-Book gathers together useful advice and instruction for those naval officers fighting the Second World War on all aspects of their job, expressed in the benevolent language of the day, when authority was respected.The book has been compiled and edited by Brian Lavery, who provides commentary and an introduction. Sections include: the Officer's Aid Memoire containing notes of the training course at one of the officer training schools; Notes for medical officers and treatment of battle casualties afloat; Notes for captains on taking command of their first ship; Notes for commanding officers; Notes on the handling and safety of ships and notes on dealing with disobedience and mutiny.While suffused with nostalgia and charm, the various contents of this book are an authentic presentation of matters of training, authority and deportment in the wartime navy. The book is sure to appeal not only to those who served in the war or had a relative who was in the officer class, but also to anyone who wants to gain a greater understanding of the day-to-day administration of the wartime navy.

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.

The perfect guide to Nelson's Navy for all those with an interest in the workings of the great fleet.Patrick O'Brien provides the forward to this edition of the most successful Conway Maritime title. The book is eminently readable and is the first single-volume work to cover in such depth this vast and complex subject.Written by one of the world's leading authorities on the sailing navy the book contains considerable original research to give a clear and authentic picture of the Senior Service as a whole.The book is also of interest to all those with enthusiasm for the literature based on the Nelsonic-era.

A revealing and charming pocket book capturing the reality of civilian life during the war.In June 1940, following the BEF's scrambled evacuation from Dunkirk, the Second World War was brought home to Britain. As the Luftwaffe initiated their bombing campaigns and the threat of invasion grew daily, civilians were urged to play their part in the war effort, and take responsibility for their own survival. Many pamphlets and leaflets were issued with information and advice on a diverse range of subjects, from how to put on a gas mask, to how to build a bomb shelter and what to do in the event of an air raid, as Britain braced herself for a protracted conflict, literally on the front line, fighting alone.The literature drawn together for this evocative pocket-book captures the reality of civilian life during the Battle of Britain.

As she lay in dry dock, devastatingly damaged by one of Hitler’s newly deployed magnetic mines after barely two months in service, few could have predicted the illustrious career that lay ahead for the cruiser HMS Belfast. After three years of repairs to her broken keel, engine- and boiler-rooms, and extensive refitting, she would go on to play a critical role in the protection of the Arctic Convoys, would fire one of the opening shots at D-Day and continue supporting the Operation Overlord landings for five weeks. Her service continued beyond the Second World War both in Korea and in the Far East before she commenced her life as one of the world’s most celebrated preserved visitor ships in the Pool of London. Her crowning glory however came in December 1943 when, equipped with the latest radar technology, she was to play the leading role in the Battle of the North Cape sinking the feared German battlecruiser Scharnhorst, the bête noir of the Royal Navy. In doing so the ship’s crew made a vital contribution to, what was to be, the final big-gun head-to-head action to be fought at sea.In The Last Big Gun Brian Lavery, the foremost historian of the Royal Navy, employs his trademark wide-ranging narrative style and uses the microcosm of the ship to tell the wider story of the naval war at sea and vividly portray the realities for all of life aboard a Second World War battleship. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and illustrations and will appeal to all those with an interest in military history and life in the wartime Royal Navy.• The illustrious survivor of the last big-gun head-to-head ‘broadside’ engagement at sea• The very first complete ‘biography’ of HMS Belfast• Exhaustively researched from primary sources and interviews and written in the matchless narrative style of the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author Brian Lavery• An original work of popular history juxtaposing an in-depth technical understanding with an highly evocative use of quote and anecdote