Confederate Ironclad vs Union Ironclad - Ron Field

From the Duel series by Osprey, number 14, detailing Hampton Roads 1862, has a bit of a soft spot for me.

The USS Monitor is namely the reason I got intrested in the ACW in the first place, together with the Blauwbloewen comics, when still a wee little lad.

It all came because of a documentary with Clive Cussler ages ago, about the search for the wrecks of Monitor and the Hunley, and the line of 'but then Virginia found a strange small pillbox on the water in the morning' and he ship left a profound impression on my then gearing to historics mind.

Plot

This si the account of the machines of war pitted against each other and the combatants who operated them.  Step onto the battlefield and immerse yourself in the experience of real historic combat.

The ironclad was a revolutionary weapon of war, the first modern, armored, self-propelled warship.  During the American Civil War the South used ironclads to protect its ports from Northern blockade.  Impressed with their superior resistance to canon fire, the North developed its own rival fleet of ironclads.
Eventually the two products of this arms race dueled at the battle of Hampton Roads in a clash that would change the face of naval warfare.

Fully illustrated with artwork and rare photographs, discover the revolutionary and radically different designs of the two ironclads - the CSS Virginia (built upon the hull of the USS Merrimack) and the USS Monitor - through an analasys of each ship's weaponry, ammunition and propulsion systems.

Ron Field also highlights some of the other key ironclads that fought throughout the war, complete with detailed specifications of each vessel.

What I liked about it

* the personal letters from the sailors on both ships, giving a great image of how it must have been serving on either of them.
* How politics on the one hand, and time pressure on the other, influenced the design of both contenders.

What I didn't like about it

* not much, perhaps the fact that these Osprey series offer a great summary of the events, but not the in depth of a 300+ book would achieve.

I enjoyed the book for sure at least, and the updated cover art of this most recent printing keeps ctching my imagination... now to get me that 28mm mdf Monitor assembled and painted...