Master and Commander
Enter Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin who meet at a chamber music recital under less than amicable conditions, become the best of friends and set upon a 20-volume voyage into the best traditions of English literature. Set against a meticulously detailed background of the wars of Napoleon, this tale traces the career of a daring, ambitious, yet very human naval hero. O’Brian’s command of the idiom of 19th Century maritime affairs, his familiarity with the mysteries of sailing and equipment, are nothing less than amazing; his description of maneuvers and tactics – the almost languid tempo of war at sea—is breath-taking.