Types of naval officers drawn from the history of the British Navy;: With some account of the conditions of naval warfare at the beginning of the ... the sail period

by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Book by Mahan, A. T

Genres: History

500 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Alfred Thayer Mahan was a United States Navy flag officer, geostrategist, and historian, who has been called "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century." His concept of "sea power" was based on the idea that countries with greater naval power will have greater worldwide impact; it was most famously presented in his 1890 book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783. The concept had an enormous influence in shaping the strategic thought of navies across the world, especially in the United States, Germany, Japan and Britain, ultimately causing the World War I naval arms race. His ideas still permeate the U.S. Navy Doctrine.

Reviews

[Miles Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An analysis of lesser British admirals from my favorite author.

[Reni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es fällt mir schwer ein Review zu schreiben. Mir gefiel das anekdotenhafte, aber wie viel man aus diesem Buch zieht hängt davon ab, wie viel man über diesen Abschnitt der Navy schon gelesen hat und vor allem, wie viel man noch lesen will, vor allem über die Admiräle, deren Karrieren hier skizziert werden. Wenn man sich schon mit ihren Biografien beschäftigt hat, wird man mit herzlich wenig Neuem konfrontiert. Die größte Eigenleitung liefert der Autor in der immerhin fast 100-Seitigen Einleitung, in dem er den Verfall der Seefahrts-Techniken bis zur Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts schildert, und dann die Rettung der Navy durch den Einfallsreichtum von Männern wie Hawke und Jervis.

Und den modernen Leser könnte es überraschen, dass das Geschriebene teils sehr poetisch ausschweifend ausfällt, Zitat:

"Forty-odd tall ships, pursuers and pursued, under reefed canvas, in fierce career drove furiously on; now rushing headlong down the forward slope of a great sea, now rising on its crest as it swept beyond them; now seen, now hidden; the helmsmen straining at the wheels, upon which the huge hulls, tossing their prows from side to side, tugged like a maddened horse, as though themselves feeling the wild "rapture of the strife" that animated their masters, rejoicing in their strength and defying the accustomed rein.

The French admiral had flattered himself that the enemy, ignorant of the ground, would not dare to follow him round the Cardinals.
He was soon undeceived."