Partial extracts from a review of Champion of the Quarterdeck.
Bates has based his book on a thorough and prodigious examination of the primary documents. His sources were nearly as global as Gower’s career.”
As an introduction to the life of a long service officer in the Royal Navy this book has great merit. It is especially useful for those lacking background in naval history due to the appendix of naval terms, and the author’s attention to detail.”
Those researching Pierre de Suffren and Sir Edward Hughes’s struggle for naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean, Macartney’s China embassy, the Spithead and Nore mutinies, Britain’s naval war with Revolutionary France, and Newfoundland history will want to consult this book. “
The work’s meticulous detail and frequent lengthy quotations of primary sources, although making it a demanding read, allow an appreciation of a British naval officer’s challenges.”
Edward M. Furgol
Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland, USA