THE WORLD OF JACK AUBREY IN THANE

Here's a stunningly illustrated guide to the ships, weapons, uniforms, and equipment described in Patrick O'Brian's sequence of 20 popular novels about the 19th-century British Royal Navy officer Jack Aubrey and his surgeon colleague Stephen Maturin. Called "the best historical novels every written" by The New York Times, the books have sold more than three million copies and inspired the epic film adaptation starring Russell Crowe. A must for any O'Brian enthusiast, this volume boasts striking full-color photographs illustrating a vast array of equipment, medals, weapons, and other objects, and is unique in that many of the featured items are actual battle relics, such as the coat Admiral Nelson wore at the Battle of Trafalgar -- complete with bullet hole.