Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 355
EAN num: 9781585744244
ISBN number: 1585744247
Label: The Lyons Press
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: September 01, 2001
Publishing house: The Lyons Press
Sale Popularity Level: 1016140
Studio: The Lyons Press
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In May of 1588, on the order of Spain's King Philip, 30,000 soldiers and sailors armed with arquebus and musket set out to sea. A larger fleet had never before been assembled. In the Voyage of the Armada, David Howarth brilliantly conveys the drama of the Spanish Armada's progress and brings to life the personalities of the men who influenced its course, from the dogmatic and irrational Philip II to Don Juan Martinez de Recalde to Don Pedro and Don Diego de Valdes, who were cousins but also bitter enemies, to the Spanish soldiers and sailors who unquestioningly ventured into unknown seas to confront their fates.
Basing his narrative on previously unexplored Spanish sources, David Howarth shows that there is always another side to every conflict. The Voyage of the Armada recounts the adventures of these brave men as they go from battles to storms to wrecks and then finally - for the lucky ones - return home.
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Rated by buyers 
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I picked up this book almost at random to write a book review for my Tudor-Stuart English class. The book is written in a narrative format that really helps you follow the story - for an avid fantasy book reader, it came across almost as a real book and not just a dry history text. The book has a real narrative feel that gives it a lot of strength. Recommended if you are interested in the Armada, or historical naval battles.
Rated by buyers -
Howarth, an English historian, takes a look at the Spanish Armada debacle from the Spanish point of view, using letters and documents culled from the Spanish national archives. He awards very first prize for the disaster to King Philip, a first-rate numbskull whose foolhardy strategy and tactics doomed the fleet before it ever left port. Thanks to him, Spain has been a second-class power ever since. Duke Medina Sedonia, fleet commander, gets far more sympathetic treatment than his boss: despite having not a shred of military or nautical experience, he displays heroic courage and equanimity in the face of near hopeless odds. Besides these two, Horwath delves deep into the personalities of many other key participants on both sides, including Drake, Frobisher, the de Valdes cousins, Recalde, and the energetically inactive Duke of Parma. The narrative is compact yet sweeping: in a mere 250 pages, Horwath gives good account of the religious and political motives behind the mission, the military strengths and weaknesses of both sides, tactical and strategic developments in sixteenth century naval warfare, and the misery endured by the sailors and soldiers of the Armada. He describe of the various fates of the doomed Spaniards with heart-wrenching passion, but includes some rousing tales of survival and escape that truly lift the spirit. Well done!
Rated by buyers 
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Howarth is a great story teller for historians. In this book, he shows the Spanish side led by the Duke of Medina Sidonia. The Duke was a very courageous though inexperienced sailor. His commanders were also very able. The problem was the campaign as formated by Philip II. Philip micro managed but at the same time did not present what the ultimate objective was to be. Would he name himself King of England? One has to fill in the blanks, and Howarth does a good job of giving details of what Philip intended to do.
Unlike others, Howarth details why the Spaniards were the underdog in this campaign. The English ships were sleek and maneuverable, whereas the Spaniards were clumsy. The numbers were not as great as one supposed. All told, the Spanish were the underdogs since they were operating far from base. The result were running battles, with the English besting the Spaniards. On the trip around the isles, poor weather, lack of provisions, and unseaworthy vessels killed more than the battle itself. Howarth does a great job in describing this agony of sailors and soldiers seeking home, but ultimately killed in Ireland.
The only wish for this book is that Howarth could have expanded his study. This is an interesting subject, but the book was short.
Rated by buyers -
This wonderfully descriptive book by the English author, David Howarth, is well worth reading if you have a desire to learn about the Spanish Armada and the "Enterprise against England". Although this book, `The Voyage of the Armada' (1981) is not as detailed as `The Armada' (1959) by Garrett Mattingly, its still a great story and well worth the time to read.
By all accounts this story of the enterprise is told as it was seen through the eyes and experiences of the Spanish soldiers and sailors and is very well done in that regard. Using very first hand accounts found in numerous Spanish letters and reports, many previously not utilised before, the story comes alive and gives you a real feeling and understanding of the participants, many who did not survive to tell their tale.
One aspect of the book that I found pleasing was that the author took the story past the battle with the English fleet. David Howarth provides the reader with an account of what happened to the ships and men who actually survived the "dash" up the Channel. Those who were shipwrecked along the Irish coast were subjected to even more terror than they had experienced so far and very few survived.
The real hero of this story is Medina Sidonia, the commander of the Spanish ships, and I found myself wondering could anyone have done any better under similar circumstances? This is a great story with an exciting narrative and although it only runs to 250 pages (hardback edition) I found I came away with a better understanding of what happened and why. This book would be a great companion volume to `The Armada' by Garrett Mattingly but can stand alone as a decent and well presented account of the "Armada".
Rated by buyers -
The story of the Spanish Armada, as told by David Howarth, is built from his research of original Spanish archives. Apparently, he may have been the very first to do so. Other historians had relied on English sources. That principal fact makes the story more compelling than other histories of the event.
Secondarily, Howarth reports on innovations and errors. For example, the Spanish invented the "convoy" and convoy tactics. This prompted the English to invent the "wolfpack." Maritime historains will be interested in the accidental development of these strategies.
Business management students will get to study the consequences of central planning and micromanagement by the Spanish King. Howarth does a good job contrasting the Spanish model with the decentralized style of the English.
A good read on several levels.
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