E. C. Talbot-Booth

Some 2,209 merchant ship silhouettes (well, twice that number as both port side and starboard side silhouettes are shown for each vessel) and 532 warship and auxiliary ship silhouettes (ditto) x make up by far the largest part of this dumpy book. About the first fifth of the book, the pages of which are not numbered) is taken up with notes and advice about ship recognition. Thank goodness there is an index of Merchant Ships and Warships! I hope that the book was of some use to allied navies during the Second World War.… (mais)

This is a classic work of Paymaster Lieutenant Commander Eric Talbot-Booth (1903-1989). Unashamedly focused on the greatest maritime power of the day, the book gives the reader a basic understanding of the sea but the main focus is on ships of all types - merchant ships and warships of the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, of other nations. A number of pull-outs complement the large number of drawings by the author himself or by Pelham Jones, the author was a proponent of ship recognition and this book was, I hope, on the bridge of every allied ship in the Second World War. I am sure this book was both useful and one to give pleasure in its day but it is certainly a gem today, providing much historical information and, unlike today, harks back to a day when shipping mattered and people took an interest and pride in the merchant fleet and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Today, shipping matters very much but most of it is not British-flagged and most British people, I expect, know almost nothing about it and care even less. If you can find a second-hand copy of this 1,112-page "Dumpy" book, buy it!… (mais)