The articulate Chamier vividly describes life on ship and in port, and Mark Twain could have written parts of this wry and entertaining tale. Life of a Sailor is a valuable resource for anyone writing about the seafaring life, and readers who love the sea will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Historical Novel Society

Another excellent little book in the series 'Seafarers' Voices' published by Seaforth. Once regarded as fiction this book is now accepted as a memoir. He vividly describes the War of 1812 and controversially criticised the British policy of attacking civilians. His other adventures included anti-slaver and anti-pirate patrols and roaming the Mediterranean and north Atlantic . All are delightfully described.

Ausmarine

Chamier was a well educated gentleman, well connected and at ease financially, and took it upon himself to write of his experiences without deference to popular opinion or, more importantly, to the sensitivities of serving and retired naval personnel. Chamier shocked and astonished the reading public with not only an unclouded account of the war's destruction, but his own revulsion and disgust at having been a part of it. That this frank opinion did not sit well with other more conventional naval writers was not surprising, but to the modern eye, Chamier presents a clear, lucid account of the realities of the war written by an articulate and perceptive observer. The same clarity applies to his descriptions of life at sea, and the unexpected difficulties and joys of a sea officer's life. The book as published is a condensed account, reduced from 160,000 to 50,000 words, mainly at the expense of Chamier's accounts of his Latin American adventures and social exploits ashore. Chamier writes well and with perceptive irony. For any reader interested in both the nature of life in the Regency navy, and a clear-eyed, refreshingly honest narrative of a naval officer caught in all the possibilities and limitations of his era, Chamier's account of his luck and progress in a profession he loved is well worth an evening's read by a warm fire, with a tot of good naval rum at hand.

The Northern Mariner

Those with an interest in the early nineteenth century European and American conflicts will find it an excellent addition to their library.

Nautical Research Journal

A gripping page-turner that holds the reader as would a well-written novel, and it opens a new view to a neglected period of history...an excellent book

Fire Trench