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Annapolis
From the days of pirate raids on the Chesapeake to swift-boat actions in Vietnam, the Staffords and their traditional rivals, the Parrishes, struggle with foreign enemies and each other to build a navy and a nation. They march across the deserts of Tripoli, sail into the South Seas to battle the British and dally with the native girls, fight aboard the Merrimac and the Monitor, fly into the battle of Midway, and look into the living faces of all four men on Mount Rushmore. When Stafford descendant Susan Browne sets out to film a documentary about her famous ancestry, her work sweeps her into the past, to celebrate Stafford victories, mourn their losses, and confront their secrets. Annapolis is William Martin's most ambitious novel, a tale of romance and courage, honor and patriotism, an ode to the men and women who have made the proud traditions of the United States Navy.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
881 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1996
86 people are currently reading
535 people want to read
About the author
William Martin
374 books392 followersMeet 'the king of the historical thriller' (Providence Journal). William Martin is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, an award-winning PBS documentary, book reviews, magazine articles, and a cult classic horror movie, too. He is best known for his historical fiction, which has chronicled the lives of the great and the anonymous in American history while bringing to life legendary American locations, from Cape Cod to the Sierra foothills during the California Gold Rush. His latest, December '41, sweeps us across America in the weeks after Pearl Harbor and has been hailed as "propulsive," "cinematic,' and "riveting" by critics. He was the recipient of the prestigious 2005 New England Book Award, given to "an author whose body of work stands as a significant contribution to the culture of the region." And in 2015, the USS CONSTITUTION Museum gave him the Samuel Eliot Morison Award. He has three grown children and lives near Boston with his wife.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
June 28, 2021
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This book is a historical fiction book. In this one, we follow the Stafford family and their devotion to the U.S. Navy. We see thru the eyes of several generations of their dedication to the navy and their service in all the wars this country has fought.
The depth of this book was incredible. We start at the beginning and the start of this nation and go thru each war all the way through to Vietnam. Obviously this book spans generations of this family but one thing remains a constant. Their commitment to the navy. They are a navy family thru and thru and I loved the look into the development and progression of the navy thru this family's eyes. It was such an interesting way to look at technological advances while service and dedication remained at a constant level. The one aspect that was a negative for me was that there was a huge amount of characters which had to be the case since we were spanning generations. The problem with this was the lack of connection to a character. I believe this was meant to happen as this book isn't about one character. It is about one family and the navy. It is meant to be taken as a whole.
This is a great read for history fans as we dive into over two hundred years of history. It is also a great read to help readers understand what servicemen and their families sacrifice for this country. In this book this sacrifice is part of the culture for one family. This isn't my favorite book by this author but I do appreciate the depth of it and its message. I am glad that I read it.
This book is a historical fiction book. In this one, we follow the Stafford family and their devotion to the U.S. Navy. We see thru the eyes of several generations of their dedication to the navy and their service in all the wars this country has fought.
The depth of this book was incredible. We start at the beginning and the start of this nation and go thru each war all the way through to Vietnam. Obviously this book spans generations of this family but one thing remains a constant. Their commitment to the navy. They are a navy family thru and thru and I loved the look into the development and progression of the navy thru this family's eyes. It was such an interesting way to look at technological advances while service and dedication remained at a constant level. The one aspect that was a negative for me was that there was a huge amount of characters which had to be the case since we were spanning generations. The problem with this was the lack of connection to a character. I believe this was meant to happen as this book isn't about one character. It is about one family and the navy. It is meant to be taken as a whole.
This is a great read for history fans as we dive into over two hundred years of history. It is also a great read to help readers understand what servicemen and their families sacrifice for this country. In this book this sacrifice is part of the culture for one family. This isn't my favorite book by this author but I do appreciate the depth of it and its message. I am glad that I read it.
March 18, 2022
I felt most of the history was insulting to the reader as was his comic book characterizations of South Sea island girls only wanting sex especially with white people while the other islanders are childlike in their approach to reality and are easily duped by the technology the white men possess, or his justifying academy graduates betrayal of their country during the Civil War because they wanted to stay honorable to their state not their country and slavery had nothing to do with their betrayal (read Robert E. Lee and Me to see why that is an absurd take), even his Pearl Harbor ramblings struck me as cliche and uninspiring, and his portrayal of the devious Japanese in the guise of the one cadet in the class of 1904 or their about, all of this in total was just too much for me to care about any of the characters.
There is a tone deaf to history in this book and the book is such that the reader of today will be able to get a history lesson on how not to think about history from that parochial 1997 perspective that the author sees the world from.
There is a tone deaf to history in this book and the book is such that the reader of today will be able to get a history lesson on how not to think about history from that parochial 1997 perspective that the author sees the world from.
October 15, 2010
I really love reading William Martin books. I know there is a formula....but still, I enjoy learning about things I didn't think I had any interest in. This one is about the Navy. It follows two families generational rivalries. I loved reading about the early navy, and rounding the horn. I found it interesting the parts about being on tropical islands, and loosening discipline, which seemed to mirror the Bounty. I enjoyed the portions about the Civil War, and in the Middle East. The characters are strong, determined and sometimes deceptive!
August 1, 2018
My hometown.
May 2, 2019
Masterful blurring of the lines between fact and fiction, this novel by William Martin is an all time favorite. Have read a few times over two decades. This latest reading reminded me again that, yes, “Annapolis” is def in my top ten of lifetime favorites.
July 8, 2018
I couldn’t want anything else from this story or from our author, William Martin, who framed American history from pre-Revolution to present day (c. 1996) within the drama of family legend. Annapolis is the constant among these stories, as is the tension between family honor and loyalty to land and to sea. I should mention that I’ve never been interested in military history. I’ve been to a few civil war battlegrounds since I grew up near quite a few, a revolutionary battleground and camp site since I went to school near one and it was a lovely park perfect for a Sunday morning stroll. I’ve been on a sub in Chicago at the museum of science and industry, maybe a recreation of an ironclad in Jackson, MS. In other words, I’ve had my eyes open and I’ve been a history geek for as long as I can remember, but I just never took an interest in military history. An upcoming trip to Annapolis had me looking for some good reading to contextualize my visit. I had been a handful of times in high school with my Girl Scout friends, on weeklong charters with the Annapolis sailing school, and had been gung-ho about nautical stuff, but not necessarily Naval stuff. This book was the perfect entre into that world because it was always secondary to the story of the family, or the heart of the individual. And I greatly appreciated that the author did not glorify war, but tried, as best as anyone could to present both sides of each conflict in a really human way. It is clearly the story of white America - and feels pretty well couched as a novel written in mid 1990s America, but as such, I suppose that’s why I relate, because I can trace my genealogy back for generations, and I can direct my curiosity toward actual names in my family tree that were of an impressionable age during some of our nations biggest conflicts. This is just one interpretation of the big picture, and it’s one that took a lot of research and passion to get it on the page. It gave me some groundwork for understanding some historical events I’ve never tried to understand before and makes you appreciate that through it all, there’s always family.
November 27, 2016
An amazing story from beginning to end!
As a Navy wife I did not know very much about naval history. This book kept me engaged through so many wars and conflicts that I had only heard about in passing. The locations are so vividly described. I have visited Annapolis and lived in Hawaii. I was able to see the locations in my head as I read the descriptions.
Not only did I learn so much about history but the fictional family was a joy to read about. They were just as flawed and optimistic as anyone else in the world and their reactions to history unfolding made me think about how I would have reacted. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.
As a Navy wife I did not know very much about naval history. This book kept me engaged through so many wars and conflicts that I had only heard about in passing. The locations are so vividly described. I have visited Annapolis and lived in Hawaii. I was able to see the locations in my head as I read the descriptions.
Not only did I learn so much about history but the fictional family was a joy to read about. They were just as flawed and optimistic as anyone else in the world and their reactions to history unfolding made me think about how I would have reacted. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.
October 25, 2013
ANNAPOLIS takes the reader through six or seven generations of the Stafford family, from before the Revolutionary War to beyond the Vietnam War. The tradition in the family always was that if there are two boys born, one is for the sea, the other for the land. An interesting concept. Weaving in and out is the naval history of the U.S., as a young woman working for PBS, and a relative of the Staffords, Susan Browne, comes to Annapolis to tell the story, and gets far more information about them that she expected.
I love William Martin's writing and his books. All of them include well researched history with a well-written novel.
I love William Martin's writing and his books. All of them include well researched history with a well-written novel.
April 30, 2014
A very entertaining and absorbing tale. It was hard to put down, which was a good thing because it was sometimes hard to keep up with who was who and who they were related to. The story spans 300 years or so of American history and the author leaps time spans in imaginative ways. While historic times pass a modern parallel story is told that acts as a binding to the whole tale. The whole of the telling is well done even with those sometime jarring time shifts. The characters are interesting and complex. The women characters are especially well done. If you like historic fiction that ends in the today read this book. It is a good one.
July 30, 2011
He could have used one more family tree in this one. He is expert at making century spanning compicated stories hang together and keep you turning the pages. He links a series of interesting stories in a masterful way. Employs Martin's successful style of alternating past and present stories. I found this one of the more engaging engaging of his non-Fallon stories that I have read. Good resolution.
August 4, 2016
Annapolis by William Martin is a delightful surprise which I purchased off the sale shelf at Chapters. What a find! Martin integrates past and present seamlessly--a feat which all too few authors accomplish--as he tells the stories of the Staffords and the Parishes of Annapolis, Maryland. How great to have a new author to explore.
February 14, 2017
I usually like historical fiction and this was no exception. there were several very interesting characters and the author did a marvelous job of tracking a family through eight Generations without making the characters or the circumstances in which they lived repetitive more unrealistic. I'm a little surprised the general reviews are lower than mine, usually the reverse is true.
July 9, 2019
I read this book many years ago and very much enjoyed it. If you read it, you will be entertained while learning the complete history of the United States Navy beginning before the American Revolution.
August 18, 2020
A history of the US Navy told through the narrative of a family of sailors dating back to the time of Queen Anne's War. My favorite thus far of Martin's works, he has a knack for teaching history cleverly disguised as compelling narrative.
December 21, 2019
Classic
I love this author and read this book many years ago. It was great to revisit a classic work of historical fiction.
I love this author and read this book many years ago. It was great to revisit a classic work of historical fiction.
June 15, 2019
Not badly written but by-the-numbers historical saga, spanning four generations of the Stafford family in Annapolis, Maryland. Not surprisingly, most of the men take to sea, most joining the U.S. Navy, from its beginnings during the Revolutionary War. All of the key theaters of war involving the Navy are covered here, including the Tripoli conflict, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWII and Vietnam. To the book's credit, one key character becomes a journalist and notably questions the wisdom of constant conflict. But the book was too predictable for me, and I'm not a big fan of these kinds of novels anyway.
August 14, 2019
Excellent historical fiction! Martin started with the last chapter first, and it immediately kept you hanging, only to come together after the last page.
February 18, 2011
Annapolis is a really good multi-generational epic book covering colonial America through the Revolutionary War and the struggle as a new nation, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, pre-WWII, WWII, and Vietnam with a lot of family drama and intrigue during and between and focusing basically on two families, the Staffords and the Parrishes, both of which lived both in and near Annapolis, Maryland. Also figuring into this one is the history of the U.S. Navy from its inception and the beginning of and continuation of tradition in and around the U.S. Naval Academy. Martin does a great job of bringing in historical fact and mixing it with historical fiction to spin a great tale of naval history and family drama.
February 25, 2023
Epic
Lots of research
Nicely done
Lots of research
Nicely done
March 4, 2024
The characters were placed for the sake of having characters and showcasing historical events. That isn’t to say that I didn’t like them, but they were not that well-developed, and once we hit the American Civil War, I had a hard time keeping up with who was who. There is also a lot of white saviorism in this book, and I know many people don’t like to read that, so I did want to make note of it in my review.
As you can tell by the title, the majority of the story takes place in Annapolis and the surrounding shores of the Chesapeake. The writing of the setting was spot-on, based on my own experiences in the area. It was so vivid and touched on all the senses.
The writing was fine. I liked how we had the two timelines and that the ‘historical’ settings were a part of a book that one of the characters was writing. However, it was episodic, and I think that is why I had a hard time connecting with the characters. There were a lot of loose ends between time periods that had me questioning. It was an interesting premise and take on a typical historical fiction novel.
The plot is the part that I am most excited to write about. As stated with the characters, I think the author really wanted to show the history of the navy as well as this country. The story was episodic, going from one war to the next. This book was very informative, and I learned a lot about some more forgotten bits of American history like fighting with Barbary pirates, the founding of the Navy, the War of 1812, and the Spanish-American War. However, WWI and Korea still remain forgotten. I learned a ton though, and that is my goal from reading.
The characters seemed to be placed primarily to serve as vehicles for showcasing historical events, but the vivid atmosphere evoked by the writing truly engaged the senses. The premise offered an intriguing take on the typical historical fiction novel. Despite some flaws, I found the book informative and fulfilling my goal of learning from reading. Overall, I would recommend it as a good read.
3.25 out of 5
Read the full review on my blog: https://izzyreads.blog/2024/03/04/ann...
As you can tell by the title, the majority of the story takes place in Annapolis and the surrounding shores of the Chesapeake. The writing of the setting was spot-on, based on my own experiences in the area. It was so vivid and touched on all the senses.
The writing was fine. I liked how we had the two timelines and that the ‘historical’ settings were a part of a book that one of the characters was writing. However, it was episodic, and I think that is why I had a hard time connecting with the characters. There were a lot of loose ends between time periods that had me questioning. It was an interesting premise and take on a typical historical fiction novel.
The plot is the part that I am most excited to write about. As stated with the characters, I think the author really wanted to show the history of the navy as well as this country. The story was episodic, going from one war to the next. This book was very informative, and I learned a lot about some more forgotten bits of American history like fighting with Barbary pirates, the founding of the Navy, the War of 1812, and the Spanish-American War. However, WWI and Korea still remain forgotten. I learned a ton though, and that is my goal from reading.
The characters seemed to be placed primarily to serve as vehicles for showcasing historical events, but the vivid atmosphere evoked by the writing truly engaged the senses. The premise offered an intriguing take on the typical historical fiction novel. Despite some flaws, I found the book informative and fulfilling my goal of learning from reading. Overall, I would recommend it as a good read.
3.25 out of 5
Read the full review on my blog: https://izzyreads.blog/2024/03/04/ann...
April 26, 2018
I was on a DNF roll last night. A few days ago, I was at the library, searching for a good saga to read. I spotted this one and while I knew I'd tried to read it years ago, I thought maybe now I could get into it. I was wrong. It wasn't the actual writing itself that I had problems with, it was how the book was set up. Instead of a linear narrative starting from the beginning of the Stafford saga, Martin breaks the historical storyline up with chapters set in more modern time. So you first read about the current time in the Stafford family, then a header in the middle alerts you that you're going back to the historical bits. The result is very uneven and hard to follow. I think that's what put me off this one years ago and it's definitely what put me off now.
August 6, 2022
Overall 4 star. Historical past parts 5 star, Present day story 3 star
This was part brilliant, part mundane. The author followed several families through the generations in and around Annapolis but also jumped to the present (1990s) to bring the two timelines together in culmination.
I found the generation chronology exciting and a learning experience, while the attempt to link it to present day events and buildings was confusing and distracting. Well worth reading for the marvelous history lessons
This was part brilliant, part mundane. The author followed several families through the generations in and around Annapolis but also jumped to the present (1990s) to bring the two timelines together in culmination.
I found the generation chronology exciting and a learning experience, while the attempt to link it to present day events and buildings was confusing and distracting. Well worth reading for the marvelous history lessons
January 20, 2022
This book follows the Staffords. The story begins in the ealy 18th century and follows naval battles in the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, WW II, Vietnam and beyond. There is a present day conflict about the making of a PBS documentary about the Staffords. Lots of history here and a decent tale, but not in my eyes great.
February 25, 2019
2.5 Stars. This book is too formulaic, with two families that draw out a dislike for each other over centuries. It is too far fetched and a bit underwhelming. The present time was probably the best part. There are other, better, Martin books.
May 20, 2019
It took me forever to finish this book. Not sure why I stuck with it. If you like naval history, it is the book for you. Not so much for me. The author took a family of characters and plugged them into the naval history, but it just didn't do it for me.
September 6, 2019
A book by William Martin that I hadn't read and it didn't disappoint. It was a marvelous generational story with the usual in depth historical detail. William Martin is one of my favorite writers. I only wish there were more books to read.......................
August 26, 2018
A generational family saga that asks questions about the value of honor, costs of war, and impact of politics on leading us in to war. Lots of good history too.
June 7, 2019
Long historical novel about a navy family. Worth the time.
August 30, 2019
Monster book - almost too much to take in, but it started in my home town which was pretty cool. Extremely well-written...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews