Lt Colonel Gerald Smyth Posted 13 July , 2012 Share Posted 13 July , 2012 I've read the former by Robert Massie and it is quite simply the business in terms of naval warfare in WW1. I would have liked a little more in terms of the U-boat war though My question is, should I bother reading Dreadnought, does it add anything further to Castles of Steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 13 July , 2012 Share Posted 13 July , 2012 Chronologically speaking, you should have read 'Dreadnought' first. There have been criticisms of both books but I can't remember what they were, but by and large both are well worth reading in my opinion. The real classic of course if the five-volume 'From Dreadnought to Scapa Flow' by Arthur J. Marder, which is now a bit dated, I suppose but is still a magnificent work cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Tom Posted 13 July , 2012 Share Posted 13 July , 2012 I read Dreadnaught first, having been to some extent mislead by the title. I was expecting something like Castles of Steel. It is a wide ranging history of prewar events and personalities and well worth reading. Old Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 6 October , 2014 Share Posted 6 October , 2014 I have come across this thread, because I have approximately the same question as the original poster. In my case, I'm looking to buy one (if not both) of these books. However, if there's no need to buy both, which one should I buy? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix C Posted 6 October , 2014 Share Posted 6 October , 2014 (edited) For the U-boat aspects recommend German Submarine War 1914-1918 by Gibson and Prendergast. Reprinted by NMP in softcover. I preferred Halpern's single volume Naval History of World War I over Massie's 2 volumes regarding the war itself. Found nothing new in Massie compared to older works dealing with the same topic. Depends if you must have social history with your analysis of events. Edited 6 October , 2014 by Felix C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulgranger Posted 6 October , 2014 Share Posted 6 October , 2014 I've got both, read neither, but have skimmed Dreadnought, which covers the emergence of the Great War Royal Navy during the years before. I seem to recall that Admiral George Tryon's surname is consistently misspelt, which is a dismaying typo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 17 October , 2014 Share Posted 17 October , 2014 Well, I've now bought both .... and all I have to do now is to find the time to read them! They're both big books, aren't they? The hardback issue of "Dreadnought" certainly is .... I'll have to get a big bag to carry it around with me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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