Richard HoughCritiques

General motoring

It took a very big scandal to produce this very small book.

In 1893, Vice Admiral George Tryon commanded the British fleet in the Mediterranean. That summer, during a series of maneuvers, he issued an order to the fleet which resulted in his flagship, the Victoria, being hit and sunk by the Camperdown, the flagship of his second-in-command. In addition to destroying a new, expensive ship, the collision cost the lives of about 350 of her crew.

Why? That was the issue that consumed the Royal Navy that summer. Why had Tryon issued an order that almost inevitably led to the collision of his two biggest ships -- which, indeed, potentially would have led to every other pair of ships in the two parallel lines of ships colliding.

No one knows the answer, because Tryon was one of those who died in the wreck. The inquiry and trial of the ship's captain couldn't figure out much, either; all it could do was honorably acquit Captain Bourke and cast a very jaundiced eye on Admiral Markham, the second-in-command who had allowed the Camperdown to sail on her collision course.

This book sets out the bare facts fairly well, but I couldn't help but wish it had told us more. For instance, a plan and detailed description of Victoria would have been nice. Instead, we get descriptions of her big guns -- but nothing about her secondary armaments, the construction of her watertight compartments, her seakeeping characteristics. We get descriptions of Admirals Tryon and Markham (the former much more favorable than the latter -- given that his subordinates seem frankly to have feared Tryon, I wonder if the description isn't overly flattering), but little about what it meant to lead a late nineteenth century fleet, or what the role of the Royal Navy was in the Mediterranean. Author Hough admits that he is left with a puzzle he can't solve. I'm sure he's right, but I wish he'd given me a few more pieces than this thin little 144-page un-indexed volume allows.

[Correction 8/3/2020: changed "un-indeed" in the last sentence to "un-indexed."]

The title of Richard Hough's book promises more than it delivers, for instead of providing a comprehensive coverage of the naval campaigns of the First World War he offers a study focused on the arms race involving dreadnought construction and the stalemated confrontation between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet between the start of the war and the battle of Jutland. While Hough's focus is understandable, it comes at slighting the myriad other aspects of the naval war: of the sixteen chapters, only five do not address either one of these two relatively narrow aspects of the war at sea. Yet Hough is an able writer who provides a gripping account of such events as the pursuit of Germany's Pacific Squadron or the battle of Jutland. Readers seeking an entertaining account of the naval war will not be disappointed by this book, though those desiring a more comprehensive analysis would be better served turning to Paul Halpern's superb [b:A Naval History of World War I|16720656|A Naval History of World War I|Paul G. Halpern|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386587161s/16720656.jpg|1607472].

Churchill from any light is riveting and Clementine held him in check their entire married life.

A competent account of the voyage of the Russian Baltic Fleet to Tsushima. It was hard work, in 1904, scrounging coal wherever they could find it, and having the world's press covering every misstep, like the attack on English Fishing boats in the North Sea. But they persevered and finally were crushed by the superior skills of Admiral Togo.½

The Great War at Sea: 1914 - 1918 by Richard Hough is arguably one of the best accounts of the naval battles of the First World War that you will find in a single volume – pertaining to Great Britain and Germany. Hough focuses mostly on these two countries, covering the dreadnaught race and Jutland battle very well, but leaving me feeling that something is missing. The book is well written and researched, as we would expect from this author, and I did not come across any misinformation within its pages, but I felt that there should have been more mention of the United States Navy, even though they did not play a great part in the war, they certainly did participate

From a reviewer’s standpoint, this is clearly a good recommend for the student of naval history, although I would suggest further study as there are other aspects of the war that are lightly touched on in The Great War at Sea.

Reviewed April 4 2018 by Daniel L Little - www.daniellittle.com

Dreadnought: A History of the Modern Battleship, by Richard Hough, is an interesting look back at the history and development of the battleship. As expected, the book starts off with HMS Dreadnought, the ship that started it all, and ends with the Iowa Class of United States battleships that represented the pinnacle of dreadnought development.

There is not much new in this book that I hadn’t already come across in previous books, but it is a nicely formed chronological biography of the big gun ships. I think this subject has been well and truly covered now, and although I would happily recommend this tome to someone who is beginning an interest in naval history, for the diehard historian like myself, it is not a necessary purchase.

Still, Richard Hough, as we would expect, has done a great job of researching the various ships and their histories, making the book an interesting refresher.

Reviewed by Daniel L Little – January 6 2018 - www.daniellittle.com

A good selection and interesting commentary on the correspondence. John Fisher was a very important influence on the adoption of twentieth century attitudes and technology by the Royal navy. Hough does try to uncover some of the private man as well as the naval bureaucrat, and this collection is a standard source for other researchers.

Buller and Rod move up the ranks of the His Majesty's Navy still maintaing their unique friendship and historically correct lifestyles. Buller goes, literally, under the covers with a German Countess to seek that country's naval secrets. The deception is successful and results in an ironic ship battle between their. Opposing battle cruisers. The Battle of Dogger Banks ends just as inconclusively as it did in real life.½

Battleship Boys grow up. Two young men, one rich and one poor start their careers and manage to be present at most of Great Britain's significant naval events at the end of the 19 th century. Each is true to their caste and successful in the gunner's world of naval warfare for this big gun ship era. Many historical characters, Lord Bereford, Jackie Fisher and lots of Royals, are included in the cast. More of a connect the dots than an original story line but an interesting look at navies that were made of steel and propelled by coal.

The Longest Battle The War at Sea 1939-45, by Richard Hough (read 4 Feb 2017) This is the 8th book by Richard Hough I have read, and was read because I so enjoyed some of the other books by him which I have read (The Fleet That Had to Die (read 26 Dec 1963), Admirals in Collision (read 1 Aug 1971)(my Book of the Year for 1971), Admiral of the Fleet (read 8 May 1976), Captain Bligh & Mr. Christian (read 2 Jul 1994), Edward and Alexandra (read 27 Jul 1994), The Potemkin Mutiny (read 5 Jan 2005), and The Battle of Britain (read 16 Dec 2009). This book, The Longest Battle, is an account o the naval aspect of World War II. Some of the book is great reading: the account of the sinking of the Bismarck, the account of Midway (alway great to read about), the account of the battle of the Coral Sea, and the last part of the book telling of the victories in the Pacific in 1944. But some of the minor incidents are less intriguing, and some of the quotations from other books are too long. (On page 221 he says some airmen were 12 miles above the Pacific Ocean--which would be 63,360 feet--which I don't believe,) . Maybe some of the accounts were too familiar, since I have read a lot of World War II narratives.½

I believe this is the book, where Mr. Hough, usually a careful researcher confuses the WWI Dreadnought "Jean Bart" , 22,000 tons, 12/12" guns and a speed of 20 knots with the "Jean Bart" of 1940, a ship of 42,806 Tons displacement, 8/15" guns and a speed of 32 knots. It is an irritation in a pretty standard description of this widely studied ship class. There are better books available.

La storia del più affannoso inseguimento attraverso gli oceani; di furiose bordate al largo della costa del Cile e della terribile sorte inconbente su più di mille uomini e ragazzi, coinvolti nelle leggendarie imprese di una squadra navale eroica e isolata.

Excellent, as Hough always is, but a)Why no mention of Konigsberg, use of Monitors and airplanes to sink otherwise untouchable ship? 1st time use of this combination. B) Why no mention of E. African lakes and Brit naval actions there?
c) Brief and unfair mention of SMS Emden and none of any other surface raiders.
Lacunae= Bad judgment and editing SEL

A readable account, sharing a good deal of inflammation and slant with with the later film "the Bounty". A pretty good set of character studies, and it succeeds in humanizing Bligh. It gets points for that, in my opinion.½

A description of the career of HMS Agincourt, the battleship that carried fourteen 12" guns, the largest number of main armament in the Dreadnought era. It also passed through the hands of three different governments in its short career. Moderately entertaining.

A pedestrian account of the career of the German Far East fleet in WWI, culminating in the battle of the Falklands in 1915. Useful for facts.

The Egyptians get uppity and get Alexandria bombarded for their efforts. The writing is flat, but Richard Hough was trying to build a fiction market.

A look at the lives of Edward and Alexandra, Britain's popular monarchs who came after Queen Victoria. The book starts out talking about their childhoods which were vastly different: happy (Alexandra) and unhappy (Edward). One feels sorry for Alexandra as she is forced into isolation because of her deafness and ill health during one of her pregnancies. It's an exciting look at a time long since gone.

760. The Fleet That Had to Die, by Richard Hough (read 26 Dec 1963) This book tells very well the amazing story of the fleet sent out from European Russia which plodded all the way around the Cape of Good Hope and got to Asiatic waters, only to be overwhelmingly defeated in the famed battle of Tsushima..

As a layman without a strong background in history, and no background in 18th century nautical terminology, I found this a fascinating and readable book. Had to skip to a dictionary or atlas from time to time to keep straight what was going on, but Hough's writing style is accessible without ever being simplistic.

Cook was an interesting man, ahead of his time in many ways. The bulk of the book details his three voyages in which he served as captain and commander. The first voyage, main purpose to complete an astronomical observation that the Royal Society wanted done on a certain day in a certain spot on earth. The second voyage was primarily to discover the rumored great southern continent. The third voyage, to discover the also rumored Northwest Passage.

For the first 2 voyages, Cook was constantly on top of his game and never lost sight of the mission. He was humane, both with his crew and with natives on the various islands that were discovered or visited. He was loved and respected by his officers and crew.

Something happenend to Cook which affected him mentally, and on his third voyage he frequently seemed to lose sight of the mission, have erratic and inexplicable explosions of temper, which were sometimes taken out on his crew, and more frequently on the natives that he had been so respectful of on earlier trips.

His questionable actions cost him his life on his third voyage, where after first being welcomed on the Hawaiian Islands as a god, he was in the end brutally murdered by these same natives.

An interesting biography covering Mountbatten's military career, seeing action in both World Wars. Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India and finally ended his military career in the post of First Sea Lord. As a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, his influence on current members of the Royal Family is interesting to read. He was assassinated, along with his teenage grandson, in 1979 by the IRA. As someone that knew nothing of his life prior to reading this biography, I found it quite fascinating learning about Mountbatten's life. The information about the World Wars and the Royal Family make this an worthwhile read.

Facts you wouldn't have expected. Mrs. C.'s father was really her mother's sister's husband according to this. Not really that interesting.

Nick is een autofreak. Samen met een vriend maakt hij oude wagens raceklaar. Een hobby die tot heel wat meer uitgroeit als Nick professionele coreurskwaliteiten blijkt te bezitten...