Naval Strategy Compared and Contrasted With the Principles and Practice of Military Operations on Land: Lectures Delivered at the U.S. Naval War Col

by Alfred Thayer Mahan

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Genres: History, War

475 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1911

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

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Father of naval analysis.

[Cassandra Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mahan was the quintessential naval strategist and thinker whose thinking is applicable today. The very best.

Cassandra

[Nate Huston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some good stuff BURIED in there. Certainly there were some lessons that were more applicable than hearing from Jomini about how if I just attacked line JHG in the region of AAAA with interior lines and with my bases of operation both in parallel and perpendicular to my line of operation, I would seize the initiative. Mahan's thoughts on strategy vis-a-vis (he loves that) seapower are perhaps more applicable to today's environment that contains more than the dreary ground situation in which Clausewitz, Jomini and Moltke reveled. Warfare in air/space/cyberspace adjust the paradigm to a similar extent.

That said, this dude LOVES HIM SOME HISTORICAL EXAMPLES. And despite rereading a few times, I am going to have to place a big old WTF across pages 295-319. All I got out of that was something about the Mediterranean. And Great Britain. I think.

BL: Good nuggets buried. Very interesting with regard to sea power, some applicability to air/space/cyberspace power.

[Chantel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically Jomni at sea. Mahan seemed to be more of a historian and not that interested in selling his theory because it was all over the place and you had to pick the pieces out of his history lesson.