Monitor: The Story of the Revolutionary Ship and the Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History

Monitor skillfully holds the reader spellbound about the ship, and her irrascible genius inventor. I also came to realize just how technically advanced this ship was compared to her contemporaries. This book is a quick and powerful read that you don't want to put down, and it conveys the depth and level of accomplishment achieved by John Erriccson in getting her built in the short time he did. An outstanding history replete with circumstances and entertaining anecdotes as well. A highly recommended book.

This slim volume recounts the history of USS Monitor which, in its famous engagement with the CSS Virginia (Merrimac) on March 9, 1862, rendered all wooden warships obsolete and initiated a naval arms race among world's navies that climaxed 80 years later in the Pacific battles of World War II.Monitor's creator was a Swedish engineering prodigy named John Ericsson who had supervised 400 men as a canal engineer by age 16. For an 1829 railroad design competition built a steam locomotive that established a land speed record by covering a measured mile in 57 seconds (63 mph). But the contest sponsors changed the rules to defeat foreigner Ericsson and his attempts to provide innovate designs to the Royal Navy were also rejected. In frustration Ericsson emigrated to the United States and in 1837 invented the first practical screw propeller to drive steamships through the water.In 1861 Union intelligence indicated the Confederates were rebuilding the scuttled former Union warship USS Merrimac as a heavily armed ironclad. If that ship (rechristened CSS Virginia but generally called simply "Merrimac"), broke the blockade of Hampton Roads then US coastal cities, including Washington, DC, would be vulnerable to attack. The Union needed an ironclad quickly, and Ericsson already had a plan!Monitor's keel was laid in Brooklyn, NY on October 25, 1861, and Ericsson and his numerous subcontractors worked 108 days and nights until on February 9, 1862 USS Monitor was turned over to the Navy. Exactly one month later Monitor faced Merrimac at Hampton Roads. Objectively the battle was a tactical draw, but strategic victory went to the Union. The Union blockade was preserved, the Confederates remained bottled up and Britain and France, who were leaning toward supporting the South, decided to remain officially neutral.This book tells the story of the design, construction, combat history, demise and legacy of USS Monitor in a well-written narrative format. It provides enough details for general readers interested in naval, engineering and civil war history. It may be too general for the serious buff, but I recommend it as an amazing tale to everyone else who wants to know more about this important historical event.There are some small reproductions of period etchings and photos and a good map of the Hampton Roads battle area. The only thing missing are good schematics of Monitor's interior design.

....Like the Monitor itself, this book is short and concise and yet it packs quite a wallop. In a little more than two hundred well-written pages, Mr. DeKay manages to cram a lot. The book is all about the first ironclad warship of the U.S. Navy and its duel in Chesapeake Bay with the Confederate vessel Merrimac. The book starts with a biography of the ship's cantankerous Swedish inventor John Ericsson and his efforts to get the government bureaucracies of two continents to show interest in his his prophetic ideas for naval warfare (propeller engines, armor plating, torpedoes, revolving gun turrets). The book then talks about the labyrinthine maneuvers of Ericsson and his financial backers through the government contract process to get the ship built. Finally, the author describes in blow-by-blow detail the epic battle between the "cheesebox on a raft" Monitor and the vastly larger and better-armed Merrimac. Every page crackles with factual gems (e.g. The Civil War really was "brother against brother". The Merrimac's commander rammed and sank a Union ship while his brother was on board). Landlubbers and civilians need not be discouraged from reading this book. Engineering and naval concepts are presented in jargon-free language. The book can be finished in two or three days of casual reading. Great for the bathroom-er, uh, excuse me, head.

An enthralling tale of the most famous vessel in American history and the man behind its inception, told with verve and a style that kept me up way into the night - finishing the book in 2 sittings.Finely researched details and verbatim accounts of proceedings give a fascinating insight into the chain of events which drag our designer hero into the Civil War as the pivotal figure in the defeat of the South. It also shows the idiocy and lack of informed decision-making, as well as the intelligence which pervaded the Armed Services chain of command (probably to this day).The actual battle is a bit of a let-down after the big build-up in the race to complete the Monitor's construction in time to challenge the Merrimac's dominance of the war. It serves to show how small things can turn the tide of events against all the odds (see also Battling the Elements : Weather and Terrain in the Conduct of War) - in this case neither of the two combatants were badly damaged, yet the South suffered a crushing blow, purely from the knowledge that there was a better power afloat, and the Merrimac was scuttled by her own crew. If you are interested in History, Industrial Archaeology or Military Strategy, don't miss this one!

This popular history of the iron clad warship that changed the history of naval warfare is a must read. MONITOR retells the story of what may have been the shortest but ultimately most decisive action of the Civil War. James de Kay delivers the story and details in a straight forward but most entertaining way. Like a good novel, an excellent plot is complemented by colorful and dynamic characters. The basics of the event are widely known but often thought of as a sideshow to the to the dramtic events of the land war that has captured the interest of historians for over a century. The author, de Kay, while not trying to preempt the actions and conseqences of other crucial events of the day, leaves little doubt with the reader of MONITOR that the world as we know it today could be vastly different had the "raft with a cheesebox on top" not arrived in Hampton Roads on a fateful day in 1862. I only wish that readers solely devoted to mysteries and thrillers would discover this gem of book. Lucky are those that do.