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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 623
EAN num: 9780393314694
ISBN number: 0393314693
Label: W. W. Norton & Company
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 445
Printing Date: 1996-07
Publishing house: W. W. Norton & Company
Sale Popularity Level: 222020
Studio: W. W. Norton & Company
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'[Rodger] provides the reader with the most authoritative and enjoyable text on the subject that can be imagined.'—Patrick O'Brian
From the award-winning naval scholar N. A. M. Rodger comes the most revealing account yet of the mighty Georgian navy and British naval society of the eighteenth century. Meticulously researched, Rodger's portrait draws the reader into this fascinatingly complex world with vivid, entertaining characters and full details of life below the decks. The Wooden World provides the most complete history of a navy at any age, and is sure to be an indispensable volume for all fans of Patrick O'Brian, English history, and naval history.
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Rated by buyers 
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The Wooden World is packed to the brim with information on the British Navy in the Age of Sail (particularly as it pertains to the Seven Years' War). Indeed, it has a tremendous amount of detail for its 346 page length.
Information gathering is the only use a reader will gain, however. The Wooden World is meant to be a detailed description of Naval life and the inner workings of the Royal Navy, not a romanticism of the subject. Anyone with a passing fancy on the Age of Sail will be bored out of their mind. Even those with an intense interest will find it difficult to pick the book back up.
What Mr. Rodger lacks in readability he more than makes up with interesting and useful facts. Very well researched, with excellent insights, and emphasis on minute detail this book will be quoted by Nautical historians for decades to come.
Rated by buyers -
"The Wooden World" is primarily about the years of the British Navy during the Seven Years' War, though its author insists: "I have drawn evidence from, and would apply my conclusions to, the whole period from about 1740 to 1775" (p. 12). His general thesis is that compared to everyday life as a whole during the time period in question, life in the Royal Navy was not half as horrible and oppressive as some historians have insisted. Rodger is therefore often accused of romanticizing naval life, and generally looking at it through rose-coloured glasses. But according to Rodger, this negative point of view comes from looking at the 18th century from a modern perspective. There is some validity to his claim, and he backs up his points with solid data.
Rodger details the inherent dangers of sea life in the second chapter, but returns to his thesis when he postulates: "No doubt few men went to sea for pleasure, but for whatever reason they found themselves afloat, they found the discomforts of life aboard ship more or less severe depending on their standard of comparison" (p. 60). Common sense dictates the truth of this maxim. But Rodger gets himself into trouble by saying that "the recruitment of volunteers was the basic method of manning the Navy. In peacetime it was almost always the only method necessary, and even in wartime there were always many men willing to volunteer. The problem was that there were not enough of them, and in particular not enough seamen among them" (p. 153). Many scholars insist on the low pay and horrible conditions of naval life as being deterrents to volunteering, and point out that this was why the impressment of seamen became necessary. Privateering or joining merchant vessels were supposedly more advantageous monetarily and discipline was less cruel. But Rodger counters that impressment only became necessary during wartime, and that "those who encountered seamen in action were always struck by their enthusiasm" (p. 250).
He stands on safer ground when he condemns "the two assumptions that personal influence deployed in the public service was morally wrong, and that in consequence it must lead to failure" (p. 274). Rodger blames Victorian morality for imparting this negative view of the 18th century to us, and says that this was simply how things were done at the time. Furthermore, he praises Georgian society in general for being one in which "the social world was far more united by shared interests and a common understanding than it was divided by mutual fear and incomprehension" (p. 344). Demanding that the navy be seen as part of the society of its day, and not a separate entity, he concludes that naval life "was very much a microcosm of British society in general....In the last analysis, the wooden world was built of the same materials as the wider world" (p. 346) - a statement that is undoubtedly true.
"The Wooden World" is a well-researched and well-documented book that could change the perception of the traditional, oppressed British tar on its head. It is also a very refreshing book, in that it does not try to force modern moralities on a distant time in history - as is done by so many history books today. Rodger is one the foremost historians of the British Navy, and his account should be read and debated for a long, long time.
Rated by buyers 
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I have always been intrigued by nautical history, particularly in regards to the English navy during the 1700-1800's time period. I also am an avid model ship builder and am constantly seeking information that will help me construct better masted wooden ships such as Bounty or Constitution.Rodger's book titled 'The Wooden World:An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy' excells at giving a good insight into what the British Navy was really like and also at giving information that helps in the understanding of why the ships were built the way they were. This book is easy to read, yet packed with information about all aspects of life aboard British naval vessels during a time when sailing on warships was fraught with dangers that had little to do with actual sea battles themselves. Indeed, the author emphasizes that death and illness were common in the the British navy, but usually for reasons unrelated to actual combat. He also makes it quite clear that for many, life aboard these ships was far better and safer than what they might have had on land. While Patrick O'Brian's novels give excellent views of British naval life, this book does it without need of a plot or story.
Rated by buyers -
I originally ordered this after reading through Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. "The Wooden World" covers the world of the Royal Navy a generation or so before Jack Aubrey's day, but it is an invaluable guide to life aboard ship, to the ways ships were outfitted and manned, and to the byzantine and often slapdash administration of the Royal Navy. N.A.M. Rodger is an engaging writer with a keen eye for both the human side of the mid-Georgian Royal Navy and the details of naval finance and ship-handling. This is a fine book and highly recommended for anyone to wants to follow the workings of the Royal Navy from the days of Walpole to the coming of the age of Nelson.
Rated by buyers -
The Wooden World provides an excellent overview of what life was like for the navy during the age of sail. Most of the details are referenced by contemporary letters or documents. If you are a fan of Hornblower or Aubrey, this book will greatly enhance your understanding of how the social world worked on a ship. An interesting point is that the social system seemed much more feudal than I would have expected at this point in time. Especially fascinating is the section on "mutiny" - an apparently well accepted method of redressing grievances, as long as done by the rules.
It was also well written and fun to read.
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