Book description
The Royal Navy to which Admiral Lord Nelson sacrificed his life
depended on thousands of sailors and marines to man the great
wind-powered wooden warships. Drawn from all over Britain and beyond,
often unwillingly, these ordinary men made the navy invincible through
skill, courage and sheer determination. Yet their contribution is
frequently overlooked, while the officers became celebrities. JACK TAR
gives these forgotten men a voice in an exciting, enthralling, often
unexpected and always entertaining picture of what their life was really
like during this age of sail. Through personal letters, diaries and
other manuscripts, the emotions and experiences of these people are
explored, from the dread of press-gangs, shipwreck and disease, to the
exhilaration of battle, grog, prize money and prostitutes. JACK TAR is
an authoritative and gripping account that will be compulsive reading
for anyone wanting to discover the vibrant and sometimes stark realities
of this wooden world at war. Roy and Lesley Adkins are archaeologists
and writers. They are members of the Institute of Field Archaeologists
and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and run their own
independent archaeological consultancy from their base in South-West
England. They have both written several books.
