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Have no doubt, this is a brilliant piece of scholarship, cleverly organized and wonderfully written. Given the promising subject matter of naval warfare to work with it is not surprising that an historian with literary flair can produce a gripping narrative. Perhaps what is surprising is that half the book is devoted to the seemingly mundane background of naval history--how the Navy was managed, financed, directed, and supplied with materials, how the men were fed and so on--rather than the showy foreground, yet it remains a deeply engrossing read throughout. The secret of Rodger’s success is not just down to the cracking narrative and fine scholarship but partly to the way he has organized his material. The main body of the book is arranged into four parallel streams: policy, strategy and naval operations; finance, administration and logistics; social history; and finally the tools of sea-power, ships and weapons. These four themes are broken up into thirty six relatively small chapters each covering a certain time span. Constructing the book in this way has certain practical advantages for the reader. Most importantly, separating the key themes and alternating between them keeps the narrative fresh and interesting while giving the reader the best chance of taking on board the who, what, where, when, how and why of things without losing either the sense of continuity or one’s bearings. Over 100 pages of information are left outside the main body of the text: the front of the book contains several maps, a useful chart listing dates, battles and the names of the ships involved while the back contains an English glossary, a general chronology and appendixes on ships, fleets, rates of pay, Admirals and officials, manpower and naval finance. Rodger’s choice of structure along with his great story-telling abilities means we can assimilate the maximum amount of information with a minimal degree of effort while being thoroughly entertained along the way. On the whole The Command of the Ocean is one those rare specimens that will simultaneously stimulate the specialist and greatly please the general reader. --Larry Brown --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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The English Commonwealth which executed its former king Charles I on 30 January 1649 was in principle a republic governed by a sovereign Parliament, but the Parliament was the 'Rump' remaining of the Long Parliament (originally elected in 1640) after Colonel Thomas Pride's troops had purged it of all remaining opponents of military rule in December. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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It highlights not just the military side of the period, but also the social and political aspects of it, portraying the personalities of the period with the utmost accuracy. There are also some fundamental points made in this book which although complex, are explained so well that they will improve any readers understanding of the period.
This surely must be one of the best works on the subject of the evolution of British sea power yet written. Read more
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