Defiance At Sea

by Jon Guttman

This book is all about last stands and grand gestures in the face of daunting odds, and all at sea, where there is no safe hiding place, no cover but the sea itself - and who can trust the sea? But sailors are not afraid to fight on it, and in this exciting collection of true stories every kind of naval tactic, aggressive, defensive, piratical, suicidal, in force of numbers or alone, is explored in the fourteen unlinked episodes. In whole, this is a reminder that once, not so long ago, world power was measured at sea rather than on the land or in the air.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1999

About the author

Jon Guttman, a military historian based in Leesburg, Virginia, is research director for Historynet.com. Specializing in World War I aviation, he has authored numerous Osprey titles and served as senior editor for Aviation History and World War II magazines.

Reviews

[John Cates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many, I thought interesting insight (which others may view as "trivia") - such as making sails wet causes sails to hold wind better and therefore the ship can sail faster - good to know when greater speed is important

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A. From Nick's library.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read detailing naval actions from Flores in 1591 upto the Falklands war of 1982.

My favourite chapter has to be that giving details of the US Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins fight with the German Raider Schiff 23, Stier. An amazing tale of seamanship, ship-handling and dogged determination.
Amazing that this vessel fought a heavily armed German Naval Auxiliary to a standstill with an ancient 4 inch gun and some smaller weapons