BRITANNIA RULES: THE CLASSIC AGE OF NAVAL HISTORY 1793-1815.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn thus.[Simultaneous issue as the UK, Weidenfeld & Nicolson HB issue - the true 1st edn.] FINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of price,as a Book Club edition.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,monochrome illustrated with painting details from National Maritime Museum,illustrated panels of dw/dj,with white+dark blue lettering to front white+red to spine/backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present.A small sellotape repair to small (15mm) tear to front,top edge of dw/dj and spine/ backstrip ubiquitously sunned/faded. Top+fore-edges generally bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright, crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain chocolate brown cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,3-199pp [paginated] includes Pts 1+II comprising 6 chapters each,16pp contemporary,historical b/w facsimile illustrations reproductions in 1 block,between pp104/5,b/w diagrams/battle plans etc.,list of references and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,separate contents+ illustrations lists/tables,and Pts separator pages.
Britain's classic age of naval achievement began in 1793 - when it ended is a matter of some controversy.Many historians bring the curtain down at the most dramatic moment: the glorious victory of Trafalgar and with it the death of Lord Nelson.It would have suited the purpose of drama if the war against France had ended with the hero's burial but that is not,in fact,what happened.War at sea continued for another decade,the final victors being men that history has largely ignored. C. Northcote Parkinson,a highly popular and authoratative writer on many subjects, has been a student of naval and maritime history since 1932 - his first book on this subject was published in 1934.In 'Britannia Rules' he re-tells the saga of the most outstanding period of naval history,producing a balanced narrative which establishes the importance of the events of 1805-16.If Pitt was a great man,so was Lord Liverpool; if Nelson was a hero,so was Lord Exmouth.He also emphasises that there was no inherent superiority of the British over the French antagonists.The French Navy,crippled by the Revolution and the loss of its senior officers,did not begin to recover until about 1810 when a French victory led the British Navy to think about its standards of training.The American War of 1812 led to even more vital improvements in gunnery and there is some reason to think that the sailing ship navy reached its highest level of efficiency not at Trafalgar but at the Battle of Algiers. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
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