The great era of the steam warship was from the mid-1860s to the mid-1940s—an 80-year period in which a huge variety of large ships was built; ever-greater in size; fire-power; and technical sophistication. Capital ships were the most expensive and destructive weaponry prior to the atomic bomb; and their development can be traced decade by decade. Arranged in chronological order; Warships from the Golden Age of Steam provides concise coverage of the most famous warships of the period; including HMS Devastation; the first seagoing turreted ship; the Chinese Ting Yuen; sunk at the Battle of Wei-Hai-Wei in 1894; Mikasa and Retvizan; which fought each other at the Battle of the Yellow Sea in 1904; HMS Indomitable; Nassau; and HMS Lion; which all fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916; HMS Prince of Wales; which took part in the hunt for the Bismarck; and was eventually sunk by Japanese air attack off the coast of Malaya in December 1941; and the Tirpitz; which remained a constant threat to Allied shipping in the North Atlantic until it was sunk by aerial bombers in a Norwegian fjord in late 1944. Filled with colorful artworks; expertly-written background text; and useful specifications of 100 warships; Warships from the Golden Age of Steam is a visually lavish guide to major fighting ships from 1860 to 1945.
#684247 in Books Osprey 2013-10-22 2013-10-22Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.61 x 6.99 x 7.23l; #File Name: 178096183996 pages9781780961835
Review
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful. "A victory? What have we won?"By D. C. Stolk"The Jewish Revolt AD 66-74" by Si Sheppard; a volume in the Osprey Campaign series; is a superb account of how an army of peasant guerrillas fought against the most powerful empire and war machine of antiquity: The Roman Army. The Jewish Revolt started when a local disturbance in Caesarea caused by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue exploded into a pan-Jewish revolt against their Roman overlords. It was finally ended when the last Jewish remnants of the revolt; who held out in the mountain fortress of Masada until AD 73; committed mass suicide when the Romans were breaking down the walls; bringing the revolt to an end."The Jewish Revolt AD 66-74" provides; in 96 pages; a concise presentation of the Roman campaign to crush the rebellion. The opposing commanders are introduced; as well as the opposing armies and their war-aims; before the narrative switches to the campaign itself. It was a campaign mainly of sieges; and those of Jotapata; the seaport Joppa and Gischala to give an example are covered. Most of the attention is given to the five-month siege of Jerusalem in the summer of AD 70; which ended with the fall and destruction of the city amid dreadful atrocities. Even by Roman standards; the human toll was appalling. But Jewish resistance was not broken yet; and this is also covered in this Campaign-title. Isolated redoubts still remained in rebel hands. Masada was one of them; on the western bank of the Dead Sea. Although a postscript to the Revolt; this is the best-known part of it to the general public (see below). The Roman Flavius Silva led the siege of Masada; which lasted three years; and the ensuing "death before dishonor" resolution of the Sicarii holdouts has gone down in history as the famous last stand of a defiant-until-death Jewish nation.Kudos must go to author Shi Sheppard; who manages to present the convoluted story of this Jewish War in a clear and comprehensive way. The only thing lacking in this campaign title is a section on how the soldiers of the opposing armies were trained and armed. The strength of the Osprey format is also its weakness: at 96 pages; there's no room for anything more than a concise recounting of the highlights of a campaign; always leaving you with just a taste of what's to offer but not the full meal. This is compensated with an abundance of pictures; maps and full-color artwork you (usually) won't find in a regular history book.The casual reader may know about this Jewish Revolt through "Masada" (1981); the epic four-part television mini-series that was shot on location in Israel; starring Peter O'Toole; Peter Strauss and Barbara Carrera. The title of this review is a quote from that series. The full quote goes: "A victory? What have we won? We've won a rock in the middle of a wasteland; on the shores of a poisoned sea;" and was uttered by the Roman warrior Flavius Silva (Peter O'Toole) after the Romans finally take Masada and discover the corpses of the suicides. For those interested in reading more about this revolt; I recommend "Apocalypse: The Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome AD 66-73" by Neil Faulkner; "Jerusalem's Traitor: Josephus; Masada And The Fall Of Judea" by Desmond Seward and "Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations" by Martin Goodman.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Welcome addition to my military history libraryBy Stephen P. FordAs usual from Osprey Publishing this is welcome addition to my military history library. This book provided a great summary of the turmoil within the Roman empire including the background on the year of the four emperors. The focus is on the activity in modern day Israel and Palestione which led up to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Indept But Straight To The PointBy Thaddeus7I love history; but my job doesn't give me a lot of extra reading time. Luckily books like The Jewish Revolt; and other publications from Osprey Publishing; are great in that they allow me to quickly cover all the basic points as well as much of the background material for major historical events. The chapters are short but do not lack in facts; illustrations are drawn so as to help with ease of learning; and important terms and persons are explained.
