The fight between the Monitor and the Merrimack (or the Virginia) defined the beginnings of a new era in naval warfare. It was also a classic tale in itself. The Merrimack, by sinking the Congress and the Cumberland and forcing the Minnesota aground, inflicted in one day 10% of all Union naval fatalities in the Civil War, but overnight she found herself faced with a new opponent, the Monitor. The two ironclads fought, the next day, to a stalemate. That outcome was all but guaranteed by the limitations under which the two antagonists fought. The Merrimack was handicapped by a number of factors: the fact that she had left her deadly ram embedded in the Congress, her riddled funnel which interfered with her draft and sacrificed much of her speed, and her armament consisting of nothing but shell — ideal for disposing of the wooden warships she expected to face, but unsuited to dealing with an armored opponent. The Monitor, for her part, was handicapped by the fact that her guns were charged at only half capacity; they were so new that it was considered too dangerous to apply full charges.

Iron Dawn is a good book; it is not a great one in part because the author — or the publisher — decided not to include the usual historical apparatus of footnotes. ( )

Too frequently historical writers are great researchers and passing narrators leaving the writing dry and lifeless fortunately this book suffers in neither regard. Additionally, Richard Snow has done an entertaining and admirable job of proving his thesis, namely that the advent of the revolution on warfare resulted in a dramatic change in history. I enjoyed reading this work in spite of my initial fears that it would be a challenging task of dates and names. Well, yes, the dates and names are there but hardly noticeable in the rapidly moving narrative. This is an outstanding example of history as it should be presented. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the Civil War, Naval History, or similar field.
My thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and enjoy this work, providing a free copy to review did not win them special consideration. ( )

I enjoyed Richard Snow's intriguing naval history of the Monitor and the Merrimack. It's an exhaustively researched account -- and the level of detail is compelling. But it's also an elegant narrative, even as the story gallops along at a furious pace.

Snow's pulse-pounding account of the battle itself is terrific, but his book is much broader in scope. He shows us the impact of the battle on the outcome of the Civil War in the short term, and also how these two technological marvels played their part in the Civil War's ushering into the world of truly modern warfare. As he writes: "The Civil War was full of grim modernity, from twentieth-century firepower to an industrial state supporting a vast citizen army. But nowhere is that modernity more striking" than in the war's naval events, especially this battle. Beyond that, he places the battle in an even broader historical context. He explains the immense and long-lasting implications -- changing the shape of naval warfare forever and ending the era of wooden ships. No naval battle "has fomented in a short day's work a whole new kind of warfare, has in one noisy morning made an ancient tradition obsolete."

I also enjoyed Snow's gracious acknowledgements and notes on his sources. Combined with an extensive bibliography, he has provided fine resources for further reading and study.

In addition, the book is full of vivid and helpful illustrations. Even reading an electronic copy on my Kindle, I appreciated the value they brought to Snow's story. I can only imagine what a rich visual treat the finished book will be.

(Thanks to Simon & Schuster for an advance e-galley. Receiving a free copy did not affect the content of my review.) ( )