This is a magnificent story of the common British seaman over the course of three centuries.  Full of wonderful detail and history, the history of the evolution of men in service covers so many individual stories that one feels, in the end, a true kinship with these hardy souls.  A great achievement. I found the book to be intensely fascinating and loved every bit of it.

A brilliant and thought-provoking look at the experience of the common sailor in Britain's age of sail and rise to maritime supremacy. New research has challenged conventional views of eighteenth century soldiers as victims living under a system of oppression, one in which Frederick the Great famously demanded that his Prussian soldiers fear their officers more than their enemies. This book follows that trend by arguing that, despite Johnson's famous line that sailing was like living in a prison with a chance of drowning, the eighteenth century British sailor did not see himself as a victim but rather as a proud professional doing an important job for his country, king, and comrades. Stephen Taylor has done remarkable research and integrated his analysis into a riveting narrative that goes from the 1740s to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Though it does not discuss navy strategy or tactics, it is highly recommended for specialists and generalists alike. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

ARC provided by netgalley for review.

Generally I enjoy novels set in historic settings, as with many this includes the likes of Patrick O'Brien and more recently Julian Stockwin's novels set aboard naval ships in the age of fighting sail, so when I saw this as a review option I was quick to request it.

Sons of the Waves explores the lives of the common man, the pressed man, and anyone who is not an officer, their stories have been told, yet life for the other more numerous men are much less known. Lower rates of literacy play their part yet as Sons shows these men were often better educated their landlocked contemporaries, undoubtedly better travelled and far more open minded. 

Even today most people have heard of "the press gangs", but the rules which were followed - only to take men who were seafarers, age limitations etc are less known. The ease with which it seems that foreigners could come and join up with the Royal Naval service of its day, and switch away again - leading to crews with a real diversity of language and race.

Telling the stories of a few of these men in the 100 year period before steam began to take their skilled roles Sons is an interesting read. I did at times find the writing style could be rather dry, but only in small areas, and as a proof copy some of the page layouts didnt make complete sense - footnotes appearing a page after the point it was indicated - which maybe didn't help this. 

Highly recommended to any fan of the Fighting Sail genre of historical novel.