About this title: In August 1914 the two greatest navies in the world confronted each other across the North Sea. This is a book about leadership and command, bravery and timidity, genius and folly.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: 1st edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2003-10-28
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
Edition: 1st edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2003-10-28
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780345408785ISBN:0345408780
Description: Good. No dj as issued. Shelf 869. 6 by 9 inches. 865 pages Corner bump. Cover corner crease. Pages clean. Binding tight. Full numberline. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2004-11-02
ISBN-13:9780345408785ISBN:0345408780
Description: Very Good. Paperback, inscription on dedication page, no other marks noted in text, cover shows wear, All of our products are cleaned with an disinfectant for your protection before shipping. read more
Description: Good. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] [ Torn pages: NO ] [ Broken Seams: NO ] Publisher: Random House Pub Date: 10/28/2003 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 880. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2003-10-28
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: Like New. #4024 Massive hardback, brand NEW and unopened. The top of the dustjacket has shelfwear, small wrinkle. NO marks in book. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date Published: 2004-11-02
ISBN-13:9780345408785ISBN:0345408780
Description: Very Good. Almost like new paperback. No marks or damage inside or out. Mild cover wear only. Tight square binding, no spine creases. read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: top rear cover and dj chewed on edges, dj missing some small pieces o/w VG. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 880 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good; 2003. 0345408780. Good reading copy with some corner wear from handling. Unmarked.; Softcover; Ballantine Books; NY; First Printing; Large 8vo 9"-10" tall; 865 pages. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Bump on top edge of spine. Dustjacket with 1/2 inch tear on top edge of spine. Maps, bibliography, index, 865 pp. Text clean & tight. read more
Description: Fair. 0345408780 Large paperback. Reading pages clean and unmarked. Exterior front cover has 2 inch tear with slight curl and shows handling/edge wear. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House, New York
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: Near Fine/Near Fine. 0679456716 Light narrow bumping on spine heel in like, crisp jacket. 865pp. including List of Maps, Notes, Bibliography, and Index. read more
Edition: First Thus
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ballantine Books, New York
Date Published: 2004
ISBN-13:9780345408785ISBN:0345408780
Description: Very Good ++ Trade paperback, xi + 865 pages including maps, plus black-and-white illustrations; just a trace of shelf wear, but unread condition. See also our listing for Massie's Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of The Great War. read more
Edition: Book Club Ed.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House, New York, NY
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780679456711ISBN:0679456716
Description: 25 B/W Photos, 6 Maps. VG+/Fine. W/Dust Jacket 865pgs(Index) Price clipped, owner name embossment on front endpaper, small ink date stamp, word inside rear endpaper, o.w. clean, bright & Tight. DJ not chipped, torn, etc. Rest of book in Fine condition. States First Edition, but it is a Book Club Edition. ISBN 0679456716. read more
"This is a "must read" if you are a Massie fan, a student of WWI history or interested in the developing stages of modern sea power. This is a wonderful narrative of the war at sea between the Grand Fleet of Great Britain and the High Seas Fleet of Imperial Germany. Massie weaves a fascinating tale of the tug-of-war between the politicians and the naval commanders on one side, and the power of the Kaiser over the Navy on the other. Massie gives interesting insights into the personal and professional lives of the major players in the drama and pulls no punches in his critcism of many of the decisions made which cost the lives of valiant mariners. Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty, is cast in a negative light and apparently with good reason as some of his major decisions are suspect. Many of the myths of the major battles at sea are put to rest, such as the Battle of Jutland, in which both sides declared victory. This is 700+ page book and there are sections where battles are described in infinite detail which make it a somewhat slow read. But, overall, this is a magnificent telling of an important period in world history. Massie's "Dreadnought" is a good preface to this book and should be read first."
"I came to this very well written piece of popular history after reading the author's previous book "Dreadnought" which covered Anglo-German naval rivalry up to the outbreak of the First World War. "Castles of Steel" (a phrase from Churchill) takes a largely strategic view of the conduct of the war at sea and in particular the struggle between Britain and Germany.
There are some exciting stories here and the author tells them well; the chases across miles of ocean, the often terrifying battles and the personalities involved. Also fascinating are the numbers of mistakes the British and German admiralties made in conducting the war. Despite the positive features of this book (and they are many) I would have liked to have read more details about the lives of ordinary sailors on board the ships.
In the end you're left with a pervading sense of the complete waste of money, effort and of course lives. The horror is also there, but is referred to more obliquely than in the usual accounts of life on the Western Front. A couple of days after the battle of Jutland, and having received direct hits from German battleships, the battlecruiser HMS Tiger developed a bad smell. Although the bodies of the dead sailors had been removed and the interior patched-up and scrubbed, masses of tiny fragments of human flesh had (with the force of exploding shells) embedded themselves into all the hard to reach nooks and crannies below decks; from telephone handsets to ventilation tubes etc.
For a lively introduction to the First World War at sea this book is to be strongly recommended."
"This was the book that got me hook on WW I naval warfare. It is brilliantly written and the pages fly by. Since I knew so little of the history going into it I found it exciting and a page turner as I could not wait to see what happened. The very first chapter grabbed me as the nations of Europe one by one declared war on each other and the naval forces of the med postured for war. It made for a tense setting as the British navy hunted for HMS Goeben. Massie does a brilliant job of discussing the decisions that faced these great and not so great commanders and the forces that shaped the outcome of the naval war. He does an excellent job of melding the trends of history with the decisions of people. It is brilliantly written."
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