To Rule the Waves [Paperback]

'Arthur Herman manages to tell the extraordinary story of the Royal Navy and its impact on modern history in a single compelling volume. Herman has written a marvellous book.' -- Saul David, Daily Telegraph 'TO RULE THE WAVES is a long and generous book. It is readable, vigorous and well-informed.' -- Spectator 'He's certainly written a rattling good book. He is one of those historians who know how to pile on the information and keep their readers turning the page.' -- Sunday Herald 'TO RULE THE WAVES is a riveting story told by a masterful historian.' -- Los Angeles Times

'TO RULE THE WAVES is a riveting story told by a masterful historian.'

'TO RULE THE WAVES is a riveting story told by a masterful historian.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This is the story of an institution in which courage in battle and bravery in death were a byword, from Nelson's death at Trafalgar to Commander Robert Scott's death in the icy wastes of Antarctica. It is also the story of a military force very different from any other, with a cast of individual personalities, from Sir Frances Drake and Captain James Cook to Charles Darwin and Sir Winston Churchill. But above all, the Royal Navy is part of the story of how one nation rose to global dominance without precedent and without equal, even today. But it also facilitated trade and communication with every other part of the planet. Thanks to its navy, the British Empire became the first truly global community, bound together by law, language, and commerce - and by the 'hearts of oak' of British ships and sailors. It created the first balance of power in Europe and helped to free the Continent from a succession of dictators, from Philip II of Spain and Louis XIV of France to Napoleon and Hitler. It ended the African slave trade, opened the Pacific Rim to international commerce, and established the bonds that hold together today's world.

Arthur Herman is the author of HOW THE SCOTS INVENTED THE MODERN WORLD, a New York Times bestseller, as well as THE IDEA OF DECLINE IN WESTERN HISTORY, and JOSEPH MCCARTHY. He has been a professor of history at Georgetown University, Catholic University, George Mason University, and the University of the South. He served as the coordinator of the Western Heritage Program at the Smithsonian and has been the recipient of Fulbright, Mellon, and Newcombe Foundation grants. He lives in Virginia.