Britain's Naval Power: a Short History of the Growth of
the British Navy. By Hamilton Williams. M.A. (Macmillan and Co.)—Mr. Williams is an instructor of Naval Cadets on the
Britannia,' and is, therefore, well qualified to write a book of this description. The present volume is Part II. of the series, and carries us from after Trafalgar down to the present day. Like its predecessor, it is a mere outline of naval events compiled from standard authorities, such as James, Yonge, and Roosevelt, and is intended only for beginners, not for advanced naval students. As such it is an excellent little work, and seems to include every naval event of importance during the period named. Considering the space at the author's command, we think it wonderful how much he has managed to get in. Besides the purely naval actions there is a chapter tracing the evolution of the ironclad from the 'Warrior' of 1861 to the 'Canopus' of this year, a chapter on modern breechloading, guns and torpedoes, and one on modern disasters, with a singularly clear account of the ramming of the Victoria.' There is also included at the end of the book a useful chronological table of events.
Previous page
