Well, honestly, who better to write this book?

Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series of novels, set in the Napoleonic era of the British navy, is one of the best examples of the genre ever written. His knowledge on the time and its customs is exemplary, and his knowledge of life aboard a naval vessel of the time is beyond approach.

So of course this slim volume -- which describes in great detail those great wooden ships, their armaments and the men who sailed them -- is packed with solid information, written in conversational tone by an expert in the field. You come away from this book really feeling like you know what's going on when you read about Aubrey and Hornblower, Lewrie and Bolitho, Ramage and Peake.

The book is heavily illustrated, so you can see what he's talking about -- which helps immeasurably when discussing the layout of ships, their various masts, yards and stays, and the weapons commonly used at sea. Other illustrations provide the feel of the ship, the faces of the commanders and sailors, the atmosphere of a pitched sea battle.

It's a big subject, and O'Brian's book is far too short to be considered a complete lesson in wooden ships and seamanship. There are other, better and more detailed books that provide more thorough explanations of the life. This is an overview, and in that regard it's a success: both informative and entertaining, it provides the novice sailor a much better notion of the subject.