What can I say, but WOW!!! This is an EXCELLENT book on the edged tools and weapons used during the age of fighting sail.
Well documented, with exceptional line drawings and paintings, this book is a MUST for museum curators, collectors, reenactors, artists and navy historians. Even if you are not an "anchor clanker" at heart, you can almost smell the salt air and feel the spray...

There is a vast literature on naval warfare in the age of sail. William Gilkerson's two volume set, Boarders Away, deals with the fascinating topic of boarding actions and their weapons and tactics. Although covering the entire age of fighting sail, his emphasis is on the period 1775-1815 and on the British, French, and American navies.

Volume I, With Steel, covers edged weapons and polearms. Chapter I gives a general description of boarding actions. Included is a detailed account of the 1813 action between HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake. Other chapters discuss boarding axes, boarding pikes, cutlasses, officers swords and dirks, and miscellaneous weapons (knives, belaying pins, flensing spades, etc.)

The text discussed these subjects in lavish detail. Included are are extracts from logs and other primary sources. The folio-sized volume is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of drawings and photographs. The cover photo above is an example of one of the colored plates.

Students of navy history in the age of fighting sail are in for a feast! This is the BEST book I've read to date on the firearms of the sea service. From muskets, pistols, volley guns, carronades, grenades and other incinderaries, Gilkerson does an outstanding job with the subject. By the time I was finished with this one, I was ready to strap on a cutlass and a brace of pistols!

An excellently crafted allegorical fable. I don't think anyone could read this book without it leading to a heightened understanding of their own personality and the personalities of those around them. The only thing about it that people might find difficult or unlikely is how true the protagonists remain to their characters. Real people aren't so black and white. But, this is a fable...

Glikerson's novel has shown me all sides of my personality. I am Bosun, Pilot, and Flags with a touch of Crew and a dash of Steward. Although this novel hasn't changed my life. It has shown me my foilbles in a very intriguing story which held me from the first strike. I am a sailor and I could feel the sea roll under me as I read of the Ultimate Voyage. The five are one in us all.

When I came across this book, I picked it up as an afterthought. Once I started reading, I simply could not put it down.

Gilkerson has created a mesmerizing world, both wonderfully complex and yet awash in simplicity at the same time. Set somewhere in the 16th or 17th Century, there is always a hint of magic somewhere deep, deep beneath the surface of the story.

Five children, born at the very same moment into different walks of life in the seafaring town of Port, grow up together, fast friends upon their first meeting, eventually circumnavigating their continent in a vessel they construct themselves.

Each has a special talent that when combined with that of their counterparts becomes a force to be reckoned with.

They take their names (indeed the only names we know them by), from the maritime talents they show best, regardless of their station in life. Pilot, the master navigator; Flags, the flamboyant thespian and artist; Bosun, the master rigger and sailmaker; Steward, cook and victual supplier, despite his royal heritage; and Crew, who holds everything together.

The thrust of the book is that the five heroes are actually one, all different sides of the same personality, and that life evolves in a circle.

The author's unique knowledge of sailing craft combined with a wonderful storytelling style add to this charming text. The occasional artwork throughout the book is also quite effective in enhancing the story.

Hard to believe this is the author's first foray into fiction. With any luck it will not be his last!

This book will certainly find a spot on your bookshelf for your most favorite of stories. You certainly should not pass up "Ultimate Voyage"!