Author Tim McGrath has a new book out  which is now available in hardcover,John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail

The man regarded as "the Father of the American Navy" returns to the quarterdeck in John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail, the first comprehensive biography of this legendary officer in generations. Son of a hardscrabble Irish farmer from County Wexford, Barry was sent to sea as a child, arriving in Philadelphia during the restless decade before the American Revolution. Brave and ambitious, he ascended the ratlines to become a successful merchant captain at a young age, commanding the most prestigious ship in the colonies and recording the fastest known day of sail in the century.

Author Nicholas Tracy has a new book out  which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, The Battle of Quiberon Bay 1759: Britain's Other Trafalgar. Release date 30 May 2010.

Revered naval theorist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, thought the Battle of Quiberon Bay (20 Nov 1759) was as significant as Nelson's victory in 1805, calling it 'the Trafalgar of this war [the Seven Years War]'. Arguably it was even more vital. Britain in 1759 was much less well-defended, with virtually no regular troops at home, and the threat of French invasion was both more realistic and more imminent. When the British fleet under Admiral Hawke fell upon them, the French ships of the line under Admiral Conflans were actually on their way to rendezvous with the invasion troopships gathered at the mouth of the Loire. Yet the battle and the admiral remain relatively obscure - there is no Quiberon Square or Hawke's column.

Author Rif Winfield has a new book out  which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, First Rate: The Greatest Warships of the Age of Sail. Release date 30 July 2010.

In the sailing era First Rates were the largest, most powerful and most costly ships to construct, maintain and operate. Built to the highest standards, they were lavishly decorated and given carefully considered names that reflected the pride and prestige of their country. They were the very embodiment of national power, and as such drew the attention of artists, engravers and printmakers. This means that virtually every British First Rate from the Prince Royal of 1610 to the end of sail is represented by an array of paintings, drawings, models or plans.

Author James L. Nelson has a new book out  which is now available for pre-order in hardcover, George Washington's Great Gamble: And the Sea Battle That Won the American Revolution. Release date 1 June 2010.

In the opening months of 1781, after six years of grinding war, General George Washington feared his army would fail to survive another campaign season. The spring and summer only served to reinforce his despair, but in late summer the changing circumstances of war presented a once-in-a-war opportunity for a French armada to hold off the mighty British navy while his own troops with French reinforcements drove Lord Cornwallis's forces to the Chesapeake. It was the only opportunity Washington and his French allies ever had for a combined land-and-sea action against the British, and they used it brilliantly.