Hornblower Series By C. S. Forester – A series of books depicting the exploits of Horatio Hornblower, it was this Series of books that the TV Series “Hornblower” where based upon.
Recommended By Captain Jones

Link: http://www.csforester.org/

Books in Order order:

Mr Midshipman Hornblower
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower and the Crisis
Hornblower and the Atropos
The Happy Return
A Ship of the Line
Flying Colours
The Commodore
Lord Hornblower
Hornblower in the West Indies

Richard Bolitho Series By Alexander Kent.-A series of books where the first book starts of with the character being a midshipman aged 16 in 1772 and goes on right through his career. An excellent series of books and very descriptive allowing the reader to feel immersed in the 18th century.
Recommended by Captain Upton

Link: http://www.bolithomaritimeproductions.com/

Books in Order order:

Richard Bolitho - Midshipman
Midshipman Bolitho and the Avenger
Stand Into Danger
In Gallant Company
Sloop of War
To Glory We Steer
Command a King's Ship
Passage to Mutiny
With All Despatch
Form Line of Battle!
Enemy in Sight!
The Flag Captain
Signal - Close Action!
The Inshore Squadron
A Tradition of Victory
Success to the Brave
Colours Aloft
Honour This Day
The Only Victor
Beyond the Reef
The Darkening Sea
For My Country's Freedom
Cross of St George
Sword of Honour

The Jack Aubrey Series of books By Patrick O'Brien- Starting with Master and Commander, these books trace the career of Jack Aubrey, a fictitious naval Captain whose life is modelled on that of Admiral Thomas Cochrane. Superbly written, an inordinate amount of attention to detail, they really are required reading!
Recommended by Captain Walker

Link: www.wwnorton.com/pob/pobtitles.htm

Books in Order order:

Master and Commander
Post Captain
HMS Surprise
The Mauritius Command
Desolation Island
The Fortune of War
The Surgeon's Mate
The Ionian Mission
Treason's Harbour
The Far Side of the World
The Reverse of the Medal
The Letter of Marque
The Thirteen-gun Salute
The Nutmeg of Consolation
Clarissa Oakes (Called Truelove in the USA )
The Wine-dark Sea
The Commodore
The Yellow Admiral
The Hundred Days
Blue at the Mizzen

Nicholas Ramage Series By Dudley Pope- A Series of novels about Lord Nicholas Ramage, eldest son of the Tenth Earl of Blazey, Admiral of the White. A set of books that are very easy to read and a definite recommendation to anyone who is new to this genre.
Recommended by Captain Upton
Link www.winthrop.dk/dpope2.html

Books in Order order:

Ramage
Ramage and the Drumbeat
Ramage and the Freebooters
Governor Ramage RN
Ramage's Prize
Ramage and the Guillotine
Ramage's Diamond
Ramage's Mutiny
Ramage and the Rebels
The Ramage Touch
Ramage's Signal
Ramage & the Renegades
Ramage's Devil
Ramage's Trial
Ramage's Challenge
Ramage at Trafalgar
Ramage and the Saracens
Ramage and the Dido

One Hundred Days By Admiral Sandy Woodward & Patrick Robinson-
This book is the account of the Falklands War from the point of view of the Task Force Commander. An excellent book, well written, with superb analyses of both the naval and land phases of the conflict.
Recommended by Captain Walker

Link www.sama82.org.uk/garden/0/6/5/woodward.htm

The Illustrated Guide to Nelson's Navy (Nicholas Blake & Richard Lawrence) -An excellent introduction to the Age of Sail, this looks like a coffee table book, but actually packs a fair punch textually. The book describes all aspects of naval life between 1793 and 1815, from the Admiralty to Pusser's Rum, and uses both real life and the novels of O'Brian and the like to illustrate its points. Beautifully illustrated, I recommend this book highly! (And it only took 3 days to get through!)
Recommended by Captain Walker

http://www.chathampublishing.com/boo...companion.html

Jackspeak By Commander Rick Jolly- a book devoted to naval slang and traditions.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...076430-1874245

A very funny read! (and you may be able to decipher some of my more esoteric ramblings!)
"I can heartily recommend this book" Captain Walker

Nelson's Favourite HMS Agamemnon at War 1781-1809 by Anthony Deane, Chatham Publishing (London) 1999 Recommended by Captain Hutton

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...895447-2090017

Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War 1600-1815, by Lavery, Conway Maritime Press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...895447-2090017

and

The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1680, by James Lees, Naval Institute Press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...895447-2090017

"Both plainly informal about the construction of English Ships of War, but very interesting." Recommended By Captain Norrington

Title: Patrick O'Brian's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World

Editor: Richard O'Neill

" As the title says, it simply goes into some detail about the lives of the men who made up the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. It also has excellent period artwork. Although everyone interested in the period will enjoy it, it has references that apply only to Aubrey/Maturin series readers. "Recommended By Captain Hunt

Publisher: http://www.runningpress.com/bookstor...ct.asp?sku=512

Achtung-Panzer!: The Development of Tank Warfare (Cassell Military Paperbacks S.) by Heinz Guderian

Panzer Leader (Penguin Classic Military History S.) by Heinz Guderian

Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans Von Luck (Cassell Military Paperbacks S.) by Colonel Hans von Luck[/url]

Panzer Battles by F.W. von Mellenthin

(Recommended by Capt Walker)

Nelson's Navy: Ships, Men and Organization, 1793-1815 (Conway's History of Sail)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...363958-7398809

(Recommended by Capt Jones)

"Death Traps" by Belton Y. Cooper.

From Amazon: Cooper served as an ordinance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. This was a dangerous job that often required him to travel alone through enemy territory, and the author modestly recalls his service with pride.

A refreshingly different perspective on the Eastern Front, ETA, WW2
The writing is not polished and repeats from time to time, but it came across as more authentic that way. I really enjoyed this book.

(Recommended by Capt Pellew)

Hannibal

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge (written 1891) ISBN0-306-80654-1

A superb book, detailing the military actions of Hannibal Barca during the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome (218-201 BC), with extensive sections on both the Roman and Carthaginian military machines, and the development of tactics and strategy by the finest general the world has ever known.

(Recommended by Capt Walker)

Also Recomended by Captain Walker:

Lieutenant Colonel Dodge (1842-1909) served in the New York Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War, saw action at Gettysburg, and was decorated for gallantry and meriorious service. His books include Alexander, Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus, Napoleon (4 volumes) and Great Captains published by Da Capo Press

(Recomended by Captain Bluddworth)

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag. Harcourt Brace & Company, New York. 1995.

Drowne, Solomon. Journal of a Cruise in the Fall of 1780 in the Private Sloop of War, Hope.New York, 1872.

Duncan, D. “The Yankee Privateer”, 1779. TheWorld.com Online.
http://theworld.com/~dduncan/p...eprivateer.html

Konstam, Angus. The History of Pirates. The Lyons Press, 1999, 2002.

Lehman, John. On Seas of Glory: Heroic Men, Great Ships, and Epic Battles of the American Navy. Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 2002.

MacLay, Edgar S., A History of American Privateers. Ayer Co. Publishers, 1977.

Maloney, Linda M. "The Captain from Connecticut: The Life and Naval Times of Isaac Hull, 1986". SeacoastNH.com, Online. Http://www.seacoastnh.com/navyyard/isaachull.html

Morison, Samuel Eliot. John Paul Jones. Time Incorporated, New York, 1959.

Paine, Ralph D. "The Old Merchant Marine. United States Publishing 1919." Public Domain Books - Online.
http://www.authorama.com/old-merchant-marine-1.html

Petrie, Donald A., "The Prize Game". Naval Institute, Annapolis, 1999.

Stivers, Rueben E., "Privateers and Volunteers", Naval Institute, Annapolis, 1975.

Thomas, Evan. John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy.
Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003.

Wilson, Sally D. “Who was Commodore Whipple?” Revolutionary Portraits: People, Places and Events from Rhodes Island Historic Past. Rhode Island Bicentennial Foundation, 1976. pp 6-15. Online. Http://www.whipple.org/abe/commodore.html
__________________________________________________

My recommendations also include:

Defoe, Daniel. A General History of The Pyrates. Dover Publicaions, New York, 1999.

Exquemelin, Alexander O. The Buccaneers of America. Dover Publications, New York, 2000.

(Recomended By Alden Drake)

Might I also recommend the Nathanial Drinkwater series, authored by Richard Woodman (http://www.richardwoodman.com/Nautic...rinkwater.html). I've read through this series and now my wife is ploughing through it as well. It's not a genre she prefers, but she can't put the books down either.

Richard Woodman has a number of other books (non-fiction, naval history & naval architecture) as well. He is a former British Merchant Marine Captain.

(Recomended By Captain Mackenzie)

To Rule the Waves, How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World
by, Arthur Herman

it is a very comprehensive book and I would recommend everyone give it a read

NAVAL WARFARE IN THE AGE OF SAIL
THE EVOLUTION OF FIGHTING TACTICS 1650-1815

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Bo...8%26sortby%3D3

I've linked it where I found a copy on the web, and I heartily recommend it for all those landlubbers out there ( like myself) who ask inane questions like " what is the weather gage" and so on and so forth. Neatly written in laymens terms, including diagrams examples and fabulous reproductions of paintings and written works from around the world.