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Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy | 
 enlarge | Author: Ian W. Toll
Publisher: Norton
Category: EBooks
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $6.85
You Save: $13.10 (66%)
Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 1378
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 560
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 359.0097309033
ASIN: B000W5MINK
Publication Date: October 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
"The narrator's tone of voice, the pacing of the action, and the full cargo of delicious detail captivated me from the first page. Setting sail with the country's upstart navy, I was shocked to encounter the squalls of several founding fathers' opposition to its very existence. Ian Toll tells a story of crosscurrents in American history, in which the familiar names of the first presidents mingle with those of foreign princes, first officers, fighting ships, and a fair assortment of characters salty enough to have been plucked from sea shanties." -- Dava Sobel, author of Longitude"
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Excellent! December 1, 2008
Matthew DuFour (Eagle River, AK)
This is truly a must read. While I am not in the field of naval history, it is an area of keen interest for me. This book was very well written with the perfect balance of detail and prose; it provides all the benefits of a top shelf history text and all the entertainment of a good war novel. I couldn't put it down!
 Us Navy November 4, 2008
Torbjoern Jerlerup (Sweden)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A helpful little book that sheds some light om the foundation of the US navy. I recommend it!
/Torbjoern Jerlerup
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy October 31, 2008
Wesley Slack (Berkeley, CA)
The information in this book has been covered by many...but rarely if ever so clearly and informatively. This is a terrific review for anyone interested in American naval history.
 Immersive, even for a land lubber October 23, 2008
Big Fudge (Brooklyn, NY USA)
It appears that some of the reviewers are well versed in the subject, but for someone who has decent knowledge of early American history but zero education on the military, like me, this book delivers a readable, rich characterization of the time. My father in law is a retired US Navy officer, so I felt like I owe him the courtesy of reading this book.I can barely sail a milk carton, but was still fascinated by the detailed, jargon-filled battle scenes. This book is approachable, well researched, and an excellent example of historical writing.
With a Little Editing, Could Have Been a Five October 21, 2008
Grey Wolffe (North Waltham, MA United States)
This is really the history of the US Navy from the end of the Revolution to the end of the 'War of 1812'. It's the story of the growth of a service dealing with a niggardly Congress and trying to get 'respect' of the rest of the world. The new US was considered an upstart by the strongest navy in the world (His Britannic Majesties) and an anomaly to the Barbary Pirates of North Africa.
Toll has done a monumental job in reading through the Navy Archives of both the US and Britain, and many of the newspapers of the contemporary times. He has developed new details as to the character of the early men who ran the Navy and commanded its' ships. He does his best when describing battles and the problems of getting Congress to understand the usefulness of a 'deep water' fleet. He suffers when he over- describes the provisioning and outfitting of the ships and the recruiting of sailors.
Reading some pages was like looking at a list from a Chandler's shop and should have been put in notes. Some of the quotes are overly long and not completely relevant to the theme he is elaborating. He is best when he gives us the 'rest of the story' on some of the people who pass through tangentially but are important to the story. All in all a good presentation (just not a great one).
Zeb Kantrowitz
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