David Howarth (1912–1991)
A Bibliography
NB. 24 books published in the course of 37 years (1951–1988). All non-fiction except otherwise noted. All written exclusively by David Howarth except otherwise noted. Co-authorships excluded except for his son Stephen and the Time-Life editors. Introduction, indices and the like are listed about the first edition but omitted in the general contents. List of editions and reprints does not pretend to be comprehensive, but an attempt is made to distinguish paperbacks with an asterisk and note alternative titles in round brackets (if any). Quotes from many of the books may be consulted here.
1. The Shetland Bus (1951)
2. Group Flashing Two (1953) – novel
3. One Night in Styria (1953) – novel
4. We Die Alone (1955)
5. Heroes of Nowadays (1957)
6. The Sledge Patrol (1957)
7. Dawn of D-Day (1959)
8. The Shadow of the Dam (1961)
9. The Desert King (1964)
10. The Golden Isthmus (1966)
11. A Near Run Thing (1968)
12. Trafalgar (1969)
13. Sovereign of the Seas (1974)
14. The Greek Adventure (1976)
15. 1066 (1977)
16. Dhows (1977)
17. The Men-of-War (1978) – with Time-Life editors
18. The Dreadnoughts (1979) – with Time-Life editors
19. The Voyage of the Armada (1981)
20. Famous Sea Battles (1981)
21. Tahiti (1983)
22. Pursued by a Bear (1986) – autobiography
23. The Story of P&O (1986) – with Stephen Howarth
24. Nelson (1988) – with Stephen Howarth
The Shetland Bus (1951)
between the Shetlands and Norway, one of the least known WWII epics.
a. Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1951. Original Foreword (Scalloway, 1951). 16 b/w plates. 3 maps. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Thomas Nelson, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1967;
ii. Fontana, 1955*, 1974*;
iii. Shetland Times, 1988*;
iv. HarperCollins, 1991;
v. Time-Life Books, 1992;
vi. Lyons Press, 2001*, 2008*, 2018* (sometimes subtitled “A WWII Epic of Courage, Endurance, and Survival” or “A WWI Epic of Escape, Survival, and Adventure”).
c. Contents:
1. The Beginning of a Saga
2. Across to Norway
3. Air Attack
4. Shipwreck
5. Domestic Affairs
6. Storm
7. Two Skippers
8. Raid on Lofoten
9. Life at Lunna
10. Summer Refit
11. Big Game
12. Success and Tragedies
13. Man-hunt in Lapland
14. The Loss of the Bergholm
15. Epilogue
Group Flashing Two (1953)
1st novel. An engaging mystery with element of smuggling
and spy intrigue,
evocatively set in
the north of Scotland.
a. Robert Hale, 1953.
b. Other editions:
i. Rinehart, 1953 (Thieves' Hole).
ii. Fontana, 1957.
One Night in Styria (1953)
a. 1953.
b. Other editions: none.
We Die Alone (1955)
Also told in Chapter 13 of The Shetland Bus, but only in outline.
a. Collins, 1955. Author’s Note. Appendices I-II. 16 pp. b/w photos. 1 map.
b. Other editions:
i. Collins, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1969 (Escape Alone);
ii. Macmillan, 1955;
iii. Ace Books, 1955*, 1957*, 1965*;
iv. The Reprint Society, 1957;
v. Fontana, 1966* (Escape Alone), 1989*;
vi. Bantam, 1978*;
vii. Adventure Library, 1996;
viii. Rowman & Littlefield, 1999*;
ix. Canongate Books, 2000*, 2002*, 2010*;
x. Lyons Press, 1999*, 2007*, 2016* (subtitled “A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance”).
c. Contents:
I. Landfall
II. The Fight in Toftefjord
III. Hunted
IV. Sea-Boots in the Snow
V. The Tragedy of Tromsö
VI. The Avalanche
VII. Snowblind
VIII. Marius
IX. The Deserted Farm
X. After the Storm
XI. The Ascent of Revdal
XII. The Plateau
XIII. Buried Alive
XIV. Attempt on the Frontier
XV. The Last Duty
XVI. The Sands Run Out
XVII. Reindeer
Epilogue
Heroes of Nowadays (1957)
a. Collins, 1957. Original introduction. 8 drawings by Leonard Rosoman.
b. Other editions: Collins, 1958, 1961.
c. Contents:
i. Augustine Courtauld
ii. Andy Lassen
iii. Test Pilots
iv. Leif Larsen
v. Tenzing
vi. Albert Schweitzer
vii. Freddy Spencer Chapman
viii. Londoners
The Sledge Patrol (1957)
another obscure but exciting page from WWII.
a. Collins, 1957. Author’s Note. 8 pp. b/w photos. Endpapers map.
b. Other editions:
i. Macmillan, 1957;
ii. Ballantine, 1957*, 1958*;
iii. Fontana, 1959*;
iv. Elmfield Press, 1973 (subtitled “The True Story of the Strangest Battlefront of All”);
v. Firecest Chivers Press, 1986;
vi. Lyons Press, 2001*, 2008*, 2018* (subtitled “A WW II Epic of Escape, Survival, and Victory”).
vii. Birlinn, 2003*;
c. Contents:
Part I. Eskimoness
Part II. Sabine Island
Part III. The Encounter
Dawn of D-Day (1959)
a. Collins, 1959. Foreword. 21 b/w photos. 3 maps.
b. Other editions:
i. Companion Book Club, 1959, 1960;
ii. Fontana, 1961*, 1966*;
iii. Collins, 1963 (special edition for young readers);
iv. Pyramid, 1968*;
v. Greenhill, 2001*, 2006*.
vi. Skyhorse, 2008*;
vii. Pen and Sword, 2024* (80th Anniversary Edition).
c. Contents:
I. England
II. The British Air Drop
III. The American Air Drop
IV. Utah Beach
V. Omaha Beach
VI. The British Beaches: Gold–Juno–Sword
VII. The Announcement
The Shadow of the Dam (1961)
a. Collins, 1961. Introduction. 12 pp. b/w photos.
b. Other editions:
1. Macmillan, 1961;
2. Legate Street Press, 2022, 2022*.
c. Contents:
1. The Dam
2. The Valley
3. The People
4. The District Commissioner
5. The Economists
6. The Chiefs
7. The Village
8. The District Officer
9. The Ambush
10. The Politicians
11. The Headman
12. The Member of Parliament
13. The Warning
14. The Riot
15. The Drums
16. The Declaration of War
17. The Governor
18. The Battle
19. The Animals
20. The Exodus
21. The Promised Land
A Life of Ibn Saud
(1964)
a. Collins, 1964. 10 pp. b/w photos. 2 maps. Sources and Acknowledgments. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. McGraw-Hill, 1964 (The Desert King: Ibn Saud and His Arabia);
ii. Quartet Books, 1965*;
iii. Mayflower Books, 1967*;
iv. Librairie du Liban, Beirut, 1974;
v. Interlink, 1980*.
c. Contents:
Prologue
Part One – The Prince
I. Capture of a Capital
II. Bedouin at War
III. Battles and Marriages
IV. The British Resident
V. Death of an Enemy
Part Two – The Puritan
VI. Religion and the Sword
VII. Shakespear
VIII. Death of an Englishman
IX. Lawrence and the Sherif of Mecca
X. Philby
XI. Fall of the House of Rashid
Part Three – The King
XII. Rule of Law
XIII. The Fight for Mecca
XIV. King of the Hejaz
XV. Revolt of the Brotherhood
XVI. The American Concession
Part Four – The Millionaire
XVII. The Oil Strike
XVIII. Roosevelt and Churchill
XIX. Money and Dishonour
Epilogue
The Golden Isthmus (1966)
a. Collins, 1966. 16 pp. b/w photos. 3 maps. Acknowledgments. Note on sources. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. McGraw-Hill, 1966 (Panama: 400 Years of Dreams and Cruelty);
ii. Readers Union, 1967. 8 pp. with b/w photos.
c. Contents:
1. The Spanish Explorers 1502
2. The Way Across 1513
3. The Elizabethans 1572
4. The Buccaneers 1670
5. The Scottish Colony 1698–1700
6. The Lost Canal 1799–1840
7. The Railroad 1848–1855
8. The French Canal 1879–1888
9. The Revolution 1903
10. The American Canal 1904–1914
11. The Republic 1914–1966
12. The Nuclear Plan
The Day of Waterloo
(1968)
a. Collins, 1968. Introduction. 8 colour and 60 b/w illus. 8 maps. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Atheneum, 1968 (Waterloo: Day of Battle);
ii. Collins, 1969;
iii. Literary Guild, 1969;
iv. History Book Club, 1971;
v. HarperCollins, 1972 (Waterloo: A Near Run Thing);
vi. Collins, 1972* (Waterloo: A Near Run Thing);
vii. Fontana, 1972*, 1974* (Waterloo: A Near Run Thing);
viii. Orion, 1997*, 2003*;
ix. Windrush Press, 1998*(Waterloo: A Near Run Thing);
x. Phoenix, 2003*.
c. Contents:
i. Dawn
ii. Morning
iii. Noon
iv. Afternoon
v. Evening
vi. Night
The Nelson Touch
(1969)
its background and aftermath, the personalities involved in it.
a. Collins, 1969. 6 colour plates. 69 b/w illus. 7 ma//ps. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. World Books, 1969, 1970;
ii. Atheneum, 1969;
iii. Fontana, 1969*, 1971*, 1974*;
iv. Collins, 1972*;
v. Windrush Press, 1972*, 1997*, 2001*;
vi. Galahad Books, 1974;
vii. WandN, 1997*;
viii. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003*;
ix. Phoenix, 2003*.
c. Contents:
i. Dawn
ii. Blockade
iii. Off Shore
iv. Cadiz
v. Approach
vi. Battle
vii. Storm
The Story of British Sea Power
(1974)
a. Collins, 1974. Original introduction. 48 pp. of plates. 5 maps. 2 diagrams.
b. Other editions:
i. Book Club Associates, 1974;
ii. Atheneum, 1974;
iii. Quartet, 1974*, 1980*;
iv. Robinson, 2003* (A Brief History of British Sea Power).
c. Contents:
Part One: Obscurity 450–1418
1. The Hermits of Ireland
2. The Anglo-Saxons
3. Chivalry and Crusaders
4. Ships, Laws and Navigation
5. Battles and Pirates
6. The Great Ships of Agincourt
Part Two: Awakening 1418–1567
7. The Search for Cathay
8. The North-West Passage
9. John Hawkins and the Slave Trade
10. Tudor Ships
Part Three: Mastery 1567–1603
11. The Sport of Baiting Spaniards
12. The World Encompassed
13. Defeat of the Armada
14. Last Voyages of the Elizabethans
Part Four: Rivalry 1603–1759
15. East Indiamen
16. Pepys and the Stuart Navy
17. The Royal Society
18. Wars in the Eighteenth Century
Part Five: Supremacy 1759–1945
19. The Age of Exploration
20. The Age of Nelson
21. Pax Britannica I
22. Steam
23. Pax Britannica II
24. The Climax of Power
Lord Byron and Other Eccentrics in the War of Independence
(1976)
a. Collins, 1976. 16 pp. with b/w illus. Endpapers maps. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Simon & Schuster, 1976;
ii. Atheneum, 1976.
c. Contents:
Prologue
Part I: Greeks & Philhellenes 1821–1822
1. Revolt
2. The Navy and the Regiment
3. The Philhellenes Arrive
4. The Battle of Peta
5. The Brigands Win
Part II: Lord Byron 1823–1824
6. The Crown and Anchor
7. Doubt and Discord
8. Missalonghi
Part III: The British Stratagem 1824–1827
9. Cargoes of Gold
10. The Pasha of Egypt
11. The Steamship
12. The Last Siege of the Acropolis
13. The Battle of Navarino
Envoi
The Year of the Conquest
(1977)
a. Collins, 1977. Introduction. Illus. Sources and Acknowledgements. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Barnes and Noble, 1977, 1993;
ii. Viking Press, 1978;
iii. Book Club Associates, 1978;
iv. Dorset Press, 1978, 1993;
v. Quartet Books, 1980*;
vi. Penguin, 1981*.
c. Contents:
i. England – New Year’s Day
ii. Death of a King – January 4
iii. Coronation – January 5
iv. Rouen – January 10
v. The Comet – April 18
vi. Normandy – Spring
vii. Norway – Summer
viii. North Wind – August 10 – September 12
ix. York – September 20-25
x. The English Channel – September 28
xi. The Challenge – October 3-13
xii. Hastings – October 14
xiii. London – October 15 – December 25
xiv. England – New Year’s Eve
Dhows (1977)
a. Quartet Books, 1977. Photographs by Robin Constable. 104 b/w & 88 colour illustrations.
b. Other editions: none.
c. Contents:
i. Introduction
ii. History and Before
iii. Eight Sorts of Dhows
iv. The Master Builders
v. Engines, Sails and Rigging
vi. Pirates and Slaves
vii. Navigation
viii. Trades and Cargoes
ix. The Future
The Men-of-War (1978)
a. Time-Life Books, 1978. The Seafarers. Illustrated. Bibliography. Acknowledgments. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Second printing, revised, 1979.
ii. First European English language printing, 1979.
c. Contents:
Essay: Rivals to inherit the earth
Chapter 1: A marriage of cannon and sail
Essay: The “Wasa” reborn from the deep
Chapter 2: Titanic trials for the new navies
Essay: In celebration of the waters around them
Chapter 3: A Spanish interlude between the wars
Chapter 4: The nemesis of the dockyard thieves
Essay: The fire ship: a triumph of the incendiary art
Chapter 5: “To fly is the fashion of cowards”
Chapter 6: Twin catastrophes: God’s fire, Holland’s revenge
Essay: The greater victory that might have been
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Picture credits
Index
The Dreadnoughts (1979)
a. Time-Life Books, 1979. The Seafarers. Illustrated. Bibliography. Acknowledgments. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Third printing, revised, 1981.
ii. Fourth European English language printing, 1984.
c. Contents:
Chapter 1: A Teutonic challenge to Britannia’s rule
Essay: Training for a new era of ships without sails
Chapter 2: The fabulous fleet that Jacky built
Essay: Artful appeals to a nation at war
Chapter 3: The long wait for Armageddon
Essay: Mine warfare: seeds of death planted in the sea
Chapter 4: A fierce skirmish of scouts at Jutland
Chapter 5: A duel of dreadnoughts: 50 minutes of fury
Essay: The drama of Jutland through a German’s eyes
Chapter 6: Twin catastrophes: God’s fire, Holland’s revenge
Bibliography
Picture credits
Acknowledgments
Index
The Spanish Story
(1981)
Devastating portrait of Philip II as possibly the most stubborn and muddleheaded
monarch ever to have ruled a world empire. Cf. Chapter 2 in Famous Sea Battles (1981).
a. Viking Press, October 1981. Original preface. 12 pp. with b/w illustrations. 2 maps. Sources. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Collins, 1981;
ii. Viking, 1982*;
iii. Lyons Press, 2001*;
iv. Cassell Military, 2001*.
c. Contents:
1. Exurge Domine
2. Duke and King
3. Evolution of an Idea
4. Orders
5. The Armada at Sea
6. Corunna
7. The English Fleet
8. The Hostile Shore
9. The Encounter
10. The Isle of Wight
11. Parma
12. The Fireships
13. The Battle of Gravelines
14. ‘Stormy Seas Unknown To Us’
15. Wrecks
16. Escapes
17. Home
Famous Sea Battles (1981)
a. Artus, October 1981.
b. Other editions:
i. Little, Brown & Co., 1981.
c. Contents
i. Early Battles, 31 BC – AD 1571
ii. The Spanish Armada, 1588
iii. The Four Days’ Fight, 1666
iv. Quebec, Lagos and Quiberon Bay, 1759
v. The Nile, 1798
vi. Trafalgar, 1805
vii. Navarino, 1827
viii. Tsushima, 1905
ix. Coronel, and the Falkland Islands, 1914
x. Jutland, 1916
xi. The River Plate, 1939
xii. The Sinking of the Bismarck, 1941
xiii. Midway, 1942
xiv. Leyte Gulf, 1944
xv. Epilogue
A Paradise Lost
(1983)
Final non-fiction work as sole author. A biography of a famous island: a poignant story with strong tragic overtones. Cf. The Golden Isthmus (1966).
a. Harvill Press, 1983. 13 b/w illus. Endpapers map.
b. Other editions:
i. Viking, 1983, 1984.
ii. Penguin, 1983*, 1985*;
c. Contents
Part I: Innocence, 1767–68
1. The Misty Dawn
2. ‘The Real Youth of the World’
3. The French in Arcady
Part II: Trespass, 1769–89
4. Endeavour
5. The Transit of Venus
6. Sailors Imparadised
7. ‘Noble Savages’
8. Spanish Observers
9. The First Preachers
10. Cook’s Last Visit
11. Mutiny
Part III: Original Sin, 1796–1842
12. The Mission of the Duff
13. Muskets and Mercenaries
14. Laws and Commandments
15. Into Night
16. A Different Dawn
An Autobiography
(1986)
but not one that will tell you very much more about David than his other books.
a. Collins, 1986. 15 b/w photos.
b. Other editions: none.
c. Contents:
1. But what’s it all for?
2. Mewling and puking
3. Morning face
4. The BBC
5. The night the Palace caught fire
6. War correspondent
7. Extraordinary seaman
8. Sunday in September
9. Flags at Scapa
10. The Shetland Bus
11. Stuck in the mud
12. Finmark
13. Arctic Ethos
14. The Dalai Lama
15. The Tonga
16. Successes and a failure
17. Hora mortis nostrae
The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
(1986) – with Stephen Howarth
a. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1986. Foreword. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. Orion, 1994* (revised edition);
ii. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995*, 1995 (revised edition).
c. Contents:
1. Steam and Sail
2. Onwards to India
3. Overland via Suez
4. Cruising
5. Crews and Passengers
6. Eastern Seas
7. The Crimean War and the Canal
8. Pax Britannica
9. Merger and Expansion
10. Endurance
11. End of Empire
12. Changing Patterns
13. Local Wars
14. A New Era
The Immortal Memory
(1988) – with Stephen Howarth
Cf. Chapters 5 & 6 in Famous Sea Battles (1981) and Trafalgar (1969).
a. Conway Maritime Press, 1988. 16 pp. of illustrations. Index.
b. Other editions:
i. J. M. Dent, 1988;
ii. Barrie & Jenkins, 1988;
iii. Viking, 1989;
iv. Penguin, 1990* (Lord Nelson);
v. Lyons Press, 1999*;
vi. Conway Maritime Press, 2004*.
c. Contents:
Trafalgar Day
1. Poor Horatio
2. Well then... I will be a hero!
3. The merest boy of a captain
4. This confounded voyage
5. What a prize!
6. Many disagreeable adventures
7. This Horatio is for ever in love
8. I am fonder of the sea than ever
9. Your most affectionate husband
10. A naval expedition
11. The Lion Sun
12. We cannot spare you
13. They live like brothers
14. A victory... is very essential
15. I am... useless to my country
16. Where are they gone?
17. Oh God, is it possible?
18. Ruined with affection
19. Unfit for command
20. My Lord Nelson’s letter of dismissal
21. I think I can annihilate them
22. I shall live at Merton
23. The Eyes of his Country are upon him
24. Miracles of passive valour
25. We won’t part without a battle
26. What a beautiful day!
27. Something which the world may talk of
28. How dear is life
29. The greatest of misfortunes
Trafalgar Night
Great Britons (1978)
Cf. Trafalgar (1969), Chapters 5 & 6 in Famous Sea Battles (1981), and Nelson (1988).
a. BBC, 1978. 77 b/w illustrations.
b. Other edition:
i. Book Club Associates, 1978.
c. Contents:
i. Nelson by David Howarth
ii. Thos. Cook & Son by John Pudney
iii. Florence Nightingale by Philippa Stewart
iv. Robert Burns by David Daiches
v. Marlborough by Correlli Barnett
vi. Lloyd George by John Grigg
