"Books with good battle diagrams?" Topic

Hello all – I'm looking for age of sail reference books with good battle diagrams. I keep ordering books online which, from their descrptions, seem as though they should include these, but which all too frequently only describe battles with text. Ideally I'm interested in those books which diagram multiple battles from a limited period rather than those which select single battles from diverse eras – a book like Hainesworth and Churches' "The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652-1674" being a ideal example of what I'm looking for

The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt (yep, that one) has some excellent diagrams of ship on ship actions, showing lines of passage with times and headings backed up by a detailed narrative. The book was his thesis for his doctorate (from memory). It's one of the best books on warfare in the age of sail I've ever come across.

William James, The Naval History of Great Britain
William Clowes, The Royal Navy

A.T. Mahan's classic "Influence of Seapower" works on the period drastically increased my interest in wargaming the Age of Sail. The drawings are primitive, simple, and black & white, but also delightful and easy to comprehend. Unfortunately, he didn't diagram all of the battles he described.

- Ix

x3 for Mahan. YA, excellent catch.