Sovereign of the seas;: The story of Britain and the sea

Large 8vo. 382 (1) pp, list of maps and diagrams, list of color and b&w illustrations, introduction 24 chapters, acknowledgments, index. First American Edition, 1974. Off-white cloth with bright blue backstrip, gilt lettering to spine, and maps on endpapers. ``This volume does not assume a deep knowledge of maritime history. Each period--medieval, Elizabethan, the age of Nelson, the reign of steam and iron, the now-faded ideal of Pax Britannica--is described through stories of individual ships, sailors, voyages and battles. Lavishly illustrated with 24 pages of color and 24 pages of b&w plates plus maps, this book is a dramatic and international tale told with enthusiasm and flare by a master storyteller." from the jacket flap.