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Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack
written by James L. Nelson
Studio : William Morrow
by William Morrow
Release Date : 2004-04-27
Publisher : William Morrow
Released : 2004
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780060524036
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 8 reviews)
List Price : $25.95
Our Price : $5.24
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Book Description |
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The acclaimed author of the Brethren of the Coast trilogy revisits one of the great American naval battles and a turning point in our history -- the first major work on the subject in thirty-five years. . . The first ironclad ships to fight each other, the Monitor and the Virginia (Merrimack), were the unique products of American design genius and ingenuity, North and South. In one afternoon, in a battle that lasted four hours, they ended the three-thousand-year tradition of wooden men-of-war and ushered in, as Admiral John A. Dahlgren called it, "the reign of iron." In this absorbing history, novelist, historian, and tall-ship sailor James L. Nelson, through in-depth research and a storyteller's voice, brilliantly recounts the story of these magnificent ships, the men who built and fought them, and the extraordinary battle that made them legend. |
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Reign of Iron |
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Nelson is a fine novelist and an even better historian. Have read all but one of his books and have never been disappointed. |
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The Monitor & the Merrimack ignite the imagination |
James L. Nelson brings their famous conflict to the fore in Reign of Iron, a historical study of the events leading up to and proceeding after the battle. The book begins with the Merrimack, newly recommissioned Virginia, steaming into its first battle and decimating the Union navy's proud wooden ships blockading Hampden Roads, and the Monitor, after struggling through rough seas down the coast, arriving on the scene at the end of a hard day's fighting. But Nelson, a master tactician himself, tears readers away before the two ironclads meet, taking us back to the beginning of the war and the race by North and South to develop ironclad vessels for battle.
Nelson carries readers quickly but thoroughly through the process, switching perspectives from North to South as each ship takes shape. Before you know it, you'll find yourself back at Hampden Roads on March 8, 1862 -- Virginia has ruled the day, leaving the pride of the Union's fleet -- the Congress and the Cumberland -- as smoking ruins, and the Minnesota aground in the shallow waters and waiting only for sunrise on March 9 for Virginia to finish the job.
But the Monitor, with timing worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster, arrived late on the 8th. Its diminutive size didn't inspire much confidence among sailors of the massive frigates who'd been bested that day, but the plucky iron "cheese box," as it was called, placed herself at Minnesota's side and defended her admirably. For hours, the two iron ships pounded each other with their big guns -- ultimately doing little real damage to each other, but stalemating in a spectacular fashion.
Nelson, a practiced novelist, shows his storytelling skills here by keeping history from being dry despite the long list of characters who appear in the narrative and the lengthy technical explanations that the story requires. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book that will appeal to history buffs, particularly those who enjoy Civil War or battles at sea.
by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(net) editor |
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Fine scholorship plus talented writing equals a great book. |
Been a longtime civil war buff and recently my attention has turned to the naval side of the war and specificly ironclads. This one covering the battle of the Monitor and the Virginia is easily the best book on the topic I have read so far.
What really makes this one stand out is not just the writing or the scholorship, but the combination of the two. So often civil war history is written by scholors who know their facts but don't always have the best writing talents. In this case however James Nelson is an established author having written a number of fictional titles in the historical naval genre. Here however Nelson shows that his talents as a scholor rival his talents as an author. The result is a book of history that reads like a novel.
The book itself starts off with a bang literally as Nelson chronicles the Virginia's opening attacks on the Congress and Cumberland. From there we go back to the beginning and explore the long and winding roads both the Monitor and Virginia took to reach their epic confrontation. It's a facinationg trip as those in charge try and grapple with this new technology.
The story of the Monitor is especially interesting as it's visionary designer John Ericsson fights the doubters who don't even believe his ship will float let alone defeat the Virginia.
I do hope in the future that James Nelson writes more in the Civil War genre as this book is a must read for anyone interested in ironclads and leaves the reader wanting more. |
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In Depth and Readable |
Reign of Iron is how history should be written. The detail is terrific, every aspect of the building and operations of these ironclads is covered, in greater depth than in any of the other accounts I have read. Nelson, incidentally, discusses at length why the ship was still called Merrimack even after the Confederates had her, and goes into a lot of detail concerning her names. I have to guess the other reviewer has not read the book. William Davis's Battle of the First Ironclads is also incorrectly named.
Anyone who loves maritime history or Civil War history should read this book! I love Nelson's novels, but this makes me hope he will write more history too. |
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monitor and merrimack????? |
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the monitor and merrimack were both union ships.....why were they fighting each other???? i know the winners write the history books, but at the time, this fight was between the monitor and the virginia(formerly the merrimack)..... |
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