Name: Six Frigates
ISBN: 9780393330328

Six Frigates

Starting in the Adams administration and continuing through to the end of the War of 1812, Six Frigates is a well researched and very readable history of the Navy of the United States. Begun in the shadow of the British Royal Navy that was thought to be unbeatable, the American Navy faced challenges of every kind. The navy grew as the country grew, by fits and starts, by rising to challenges (The Barbary pirates, Britain and France) and learning from mistakes. Toll's narrative covers the political, economic, social and technical challenges that faced shipbuilders, sailors, captains and congressmen that managed the development and operation of the fleet. From the last chapter: “What was remembered and cherished about 1812, above all, was the fact that America's tiny fleet had shocked and humbled the mightiest navy the world had every known.” This was the most significant outcome of the War of 1812, which is often overlooked by Americans and British alike. The United States, by it's naval victories and dogged insistence that it would not give in to being pushed around by anyone, won the respect if not the admiration of the powers of Europe. After 1815, the United States moved themselves out of the status of 'bloody colonials' and were recognized as a power to be reckoned with. It is also worth noting, as Toll does, that “it was only after the War of 1812 that Americans began speaking of the United States in the singular rather than the plural”.

What Hacker News says

btbuilderJan 2024

Six Frigates is an excellent book about the origins of the U.S. Navy. It also gives a little insight into how quickly Britain and the U.S. aligned themselves, helped in part by the French Revolution.

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davidwApr 2022

The US war with those states features in this book about the founding of the US navy. Interesting read. "Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy" - https://www.amazon.com/Six-Frigates-Epic-History-Founding/dp...

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davidwMar 2021

I highly recommend the book "Six Frigates" by Ian Toll that talks about this time period. It's a highly readable and interesting story of the US' at the time tiny navy, that actually did very well for itself in the war of 1812 against the dominant naval power of the day. His other books are well-written and informative as well.

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mattrpJan 2020

I would agree with the gp that it seems no one who lived in the age of Usenet flame wars would see the current state as new. Remember when people would All CAPS each other?

I would also say I’ve never thought of myself as a troll .... but given the number of downvotes I get on hn, I probably am at least troll-ish. So with that in mind, here’s the troll-ish take:

When people post something online it’s often in anticipation of something good coming from it. At this point there’s nothing any system or protocol can do to make this person less impacted if anything less than a unicorn floats pout of the sky dropping little unicorn turds over their one little contribution to discourse. We simply can’t change the super enormous personal expectations that one builds up as a result of commenting.

At the same time there’s this real world trend that is starting to reflect the virtual world. People talking to each other face to face using the same etiquette they would in a virtual setting.

I would suggest it’s not just tribal... it’s that increasingly we are unable to turn off and disconnect from the virtual world... we are literally interacting through a pseudo-real dimension in the mind precisely because we cannot put our phones down.

I recently read through the post about inner monologues and I was surprised a) there were so many people who have entire theoretical conversations in their head and b) that post had so many comments - maybe it was the most comments in a single post ever.

So here’s the deal - humans talk to themselves as a matter of being human. Now, a sizable portion of a humans daily interactions are online where societal norms have been adjusted, there’s simply no way the inner dialogue in the real world isn’t being impacted by this - just look at how teenage life has been decimated over recent years.

As for what to do about it. #1, you personally have responsibility for making sure your inner dialogue is healthy and isn’t 100% from online sources, #2 you have to unplug for much more of the day than you think, #3 a good book wouldn’t hurt, #4 you need to learn more about history than you think — a good book that explores the topic of mob mentality in US politics is Six Frigates by Ian W Toll. You literally won’t believe how the period between the revolutionary war and the war of 1812 mirrors modern day until you read this, #5, have some empathy for other people regardless of their viewpoints, #6 realize that no matter who is in charge, it’s going to be ok.

I can’t tell you how many people I know literally went apeshit when Obama got elected, sold all their stocks, bought gold and prepared for Armageddon. I also can’t tell you many people literally went apeshit when trump got elected, sold all their stock... to both groups, I say how’d that work out for you? Not very well and yet life goes on.

You kind of have to be a little meh about everything...that’s my view anyway...

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ciscoriordanFeb 2018

You would probably enjoy “Six Frigates” by Ian Toll and “Black Hawk Down” by Mark Bowden.

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davidwJun 2012

I'm actually kind of bored of reading business and tech books. A couple that I've read lately that I've enjoyed are listed below. I'd love to read about what other people have been reading that's sort of "off the beaten path", but interesting to someone who is not an expert in the subject.

The New Geography of Jobs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008035HQQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... - a lot of it won't be all that surprising to readers of this site, though. Basically he says that innovation industries are highly concentrated geographically. This is probably not new territory for those who read a lot of economics type of stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UG9JFQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... - a book about copy writing. Not great so far, but something I could stand to learn more about. Other recommendations in this vein would be welcome!

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W5MINK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... - in time for the 200th anniversary of the war of 1812. Very interesting, and lots of things I didn't know.

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LW5JL2/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... - same author as the above book.

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