Rating: 
Summary: Handy companion
Review: A good book to have along for the ride, when all those never-seen-before terms come up. And that doesn't include just the marine ones. He put in most of the medical terms along with that historical period's vernacular. Makes reading the Aubrey and Maturin series that much more enjoyable. Buy it, you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Handy companion
Review: A good book to have along for the ride, when all those never-seen-before terms come up. And that doesn't include just the marine ones. He put in most of the medical terms along with that historical period's vernacular. Makes reading the Aubrey and Maturin series that much more enjoyable. Buy it, you'll be glad you did.
Rating: 
Summary: Competent and quite useful, but occasionally sloppy
Review: As one-stop shopping for references to obscurities in the Aubrey/Maturin series, the book mostly succeeds. The information presented is mostly accurate, usually complete enough to satisfy the reader, and fairly well presented.Unfortunately, the second edition paperback I possess contained an annoyingly large number of typos and was sloppily edited and proofed (the book's practice of distinguishing names of persons, of terms cross-referenced, etc., seems to have caused fair amount of trouble). Also, while certainly any book of this sort must circumscribe its ambition somewhat, readers seeking a truly comprehensive vade mecum will be disappointed in the paucity of geographical references. I would not impute mercenary motives to Mr. King or his publisher, but it seems to me that at least some explanation of the locations referred to in the novels might have been provided without harming the potential sale of "Harbors and High Seas" or making this volume impossibly large, and would have made this an even more useful and comprehensive resource.
Rating: 
Summary: Invaluable reference
Review: Dean King has done all lovers of naval history novels a great service with this book. Aimed specifically at the Aubrey/Maturin series, it nevertheless provides an invaluable wealth of detailed information about the whole of the period around the turn of the 19th Century. Not only does it translate obscure Naval terms, it also explains obsolete Georgian phraseology; describes major naval battles; eminent naval personalities & statesmen; Latin & French phrases common during the period; explanations of classical references; medical & natural history terminology - in short, all that you need as a companion to naval literature. I got this book after reading all the Aubrey/Maturin series - if only I'd had this at the time, I could have saved myself hours of searching through multiple reference books. A MUST for all naval history buffs.
Rating:
Summary: invalvuable
Review: Even I, someone almost as knowledgable about navies and sailing ships of that era as Jack Aubrey, consider this book indispensable. I recommend you keep it by your side whenever you read anything by Patrick O'Brian. I'm not a religious person, but I worship this book as though it were a bible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference for the Aubrey/Maturin Series
Review: For someone starting out in the Aubrey/Maturin (or any other sea stories, for that matter), this is an excellent companion. While I am somewhat familiar with nautical terms, I found it helpful to have a handy reference for the language of the sea and of Georgian Britain. This is a useful volume for fans of other Nelsonian heroes such as Horatio Hornblower, Richard Bolitho, and Nathaniel Drinkwater.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Reference for the Aubrey/Maturin Series
Review: For someone starting out in the Aubrey/Maturin (or any other sea stories, for that matter), this is an excellent companion. While I am somewhat familiar with nautical terms, I found it helpful to have a handy reference for the language of the sea and of Georgian Britain. This is a useful volume for fans of other Nelsonian heroes such as Horatio Hornblower, Richard Bolitho, and Nathaniel Drinkwater.
Rating:
Summary: The indispensible guide to the Aubrey-Maturin series
Review: For the devotee of O'Brian's saga ( 16 vol.) of the adventures during the Napolenonic
War's of Captain Aubrey and his friend Dr. Maturin, Mr. King
has given us a most need Lexicon and companion for understanding the
complex language used by O'Brian in bringing us the authentic feel
for the early 19th century. I spent many hours trying to find
meaning for many words and objects used in these books, but
modern encyclopedia's and dictionary's have long dropped them from their lists. So here is the long awaited book that will
broaden the enjoyment of this series as one comes to know exactly what these words mean, rather than guessing. Buy this book then read the series. Seafaring tales that have never been done better. O'Brian is in a class by himself.
In fact I wonder why there isn't a WWW page for O'Brian's writings!!!!
Contact me, at my E-Mail address maybe we can start one.
Rating:
Summary: The indispensible guide to the Aubrey-Maturin series
Review: For the devotee of O'Brian's saga ( 16 vol.) of the adventures during the NapolenonicWar's of Captain Aubrey and his friend Dr. Maturin, Mr. Kinghas given us a most need Lexicon and companion for understanding the complex language used by O'Brian in bringing us the authentic feel for the early 19th century. I spent many hours trying to find meaning for many words and objects used in these books, but modern encyclopedia's and dictionary's have long dropped them from their lists. So here is the long awaited book that will broaden the enjoyment of this series as one comes to know exactly what these words mean, rather than guessing. Buy this book then read the series. Seafaring tales that have never been done better. O'Brian is in a class by himself. In fact I wonder why there isn't a WWW page for O'Brian's writings!!!! Contact me, at my E-Mail address maybe we can start one.
Rating:
Summary: Only for the lonely
Review: I bought this book after reading about half of the Aubrey/Maturin series. By then, I had figured out most of what I needed to know. A good dictionary and encyclopedia does the job just as well, and you have the satisfaction and adventure in figuring it out yourself. If you really like this series, like I do, don't buy this book, dig around yourself. It will be more satisfying. It has a very pretty cover though.
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