Steven Maffeo

Works

Captain Maffeo has researched the great age-of-sail thoroughly, using standard primary and secondary sources and has added an interesting twist by drawing upon the works of novelists O'Brian, Forester, and Kent .... In these days of global positioning systems and high data-rate satellite communications it's refreshing to be reminded that the basic intelligence questions about the enemy—who, how strong, and where—haven't changed that much in two hundred years.

Seize, Burn, or Sink: The Thoughts and Words of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

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Captain Maffeo has compiled a fascinating compendium of Nelson’s wide-ranging correspondence and systematically organized it in a formidable yet compact volume. His savvy editing and selection of passages seem to unerringly capture the very essence of Horatio Nelson. He has crafted an essential reference for both scholars of the age-of-sail and for all those interested in the essential nature of Britain’s most revered naval warrior.

The Perfect Wreck: “Old Ironsides” and H.M.S. Java—A Story of 1812

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Sticking hard to the historical record (including a number of never-before-used archival sources), Steve brings the reader through the events leading up to the famous battle between the U.S.S. Constitution (the still-afloat and legendary Old Ironsides) and H.M.S. Java, with the spectacular fight itself the climax of the story. There is no book existing, fiction or non-fiction, about this event—the longest discussion anywhere is a few pages in Patrick O’Brian’s fictional The Fortune of War, but it's somewhat flawed and unreliable. Steve’s book offers both precise historical accuracy as well as sheer entertainment.