Give Me A Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea

(Paperback)

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America in 1775 was on the verge of revolution - or, more likely, disastrous defeat. After England's King George sent hundreds of ships to bottle up American harbours and prey on American shipping, John Adams of Massachusetts proposed a bold solution: The Continental Congress should raise a navy. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, this is the definitive history of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War.

Reviews

In Tim McGrath's Give Me a Fast Ship, early American naval literature has found a proud new flagship. It is rare for a one-volume work to fill the sails of personalities and battles separated from the modern reader by nearly two centuries, but Give Me a Fast Ship pulls it off beautifully. His descriptions are vivid, his commanders three-dimensional, and he evinces a genuine love of the world of white sails and black powder. When Give Me a Fast Ship drops anchor, the reader returns from an adventure cruise with respect for the men who fought the Revolution at sea.The Wall Street Journal

Give Me a Fast Ship is less a history of the birth of the U.S. Navy at the outbreak of the Revolution than it is a rousing collection of tales describing battles against the British, the Continental Congress and among rival captains. Tim McGrath is a storyteller writ large McGrath explains the details of 18th century navies with a deft pen and a decidedly nautical viewpoint. This is a delight to read.The Kansas City Star

[McGraths] gripping descriptions of pursuit and combat at sea are the equal of any fiction, with the added virtue of being entirely true. Solidly researched history presented with verve and gusto.Kirkus, starred review

McGrath enhances his position among American Revolution naval war historians with this comprehensive, fast-paced account of the collection of armed merchantmen (non-naval vessel) manned by amateurs that took on the worlds greatest naval power.Publishers Weekly

In telling this fascinating and sprawling tale, Tim McGrath never loses sight of the human dimension of his subject. He has mined archival sources largely neglected in previous histories, and the result is an exhaustively researched and fluently rendered account of the first incarnation of the American navy. Give Me a Fast Ship is a thoroughly readable history of an integral aspect of the campaign for American independence.Ian W. Toll, author of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy

In Give Me a Fast Ship, naval historian Tim McGrath has given us a meticulous, adrenalin-filled account of the earliest days of the Continental Navy, and a John Paul Jones for our times and for the ages.Laurence Bergreen, New York Times bestselling author of Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe and Columbus: The Four Voyages

Ive seldom enjoyed a work of historical nonfiction as much as Give Me A Fast Ship. Here, Tim McGrath helps readers learn about a vital, if little-known aspect of the American Revolution and feel royally entertained at the same time. Thats a rare combination, and Give Me a Fast Ship is a special book. After reading it, McGrath will be one of your favorite historians, as he now is of mine.Jeff Guinn, New York Times bestselling author of Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson

Author Bio

Tim McGrath is the author of the critically-acclaimed biography John Barry- An American Hero in the Age of Sail and the award-winning Give Me a Fast Ship.An avid sailor, McGrath has published articles in Naval History magazine. He lives outside Philadelphia.