The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 16601783 Alfred Thayer Mahan Books
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The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 16601783 Alfred Thayer Mahan Books
Confession is supposed to be good for the soul. My confession is that I was aware of Mahan's seminal work on sea power for decades and included discussion of it in my history classes (FYI, I taught high school history for 13 years after 30 years in the Army.), but I had never read it.The author clearly states the time period, 1660-1783, under study at the beginning. I would have preferred him to have started with the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588, especially since he gave so much attention to the Punic Wars.
Although written in in 1889, Mahan foreshadowed the territorial gains made during the Spanish-American War almost a decade later when he stated the need for stations in the Caribbean. However, stating that "Such colonies the U.S. has not and is not likely to have," he did not anticipate that we would retain the Philippines as a colony.
While recognizing this book focuses on sea power, I feel that Mahan should have given some details on what was happening on the ground. For example, he give no details on the capture of Quebec.
I was disappointed that there was no concluding chapter. The ending with the treaties signed at Versailles in 1783 seemed abrupt.
Mahan's work had a major influence on the shaping of nations' military force structure for decades. Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill are two among many who embraced the concepts contained in the book.
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The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 16601783 Alfred Thayer Mahan Books Reviews
I knew the contents of this book from so many (navy) teachings. I thought. But, read the actual text and it is so much more organic rather than mere rules to follow or avoid from an expert.
Kind of fun to follow the logic of setting up a fleet of ships under wind (sail) for attack vs defense. Is there defense? Ever? What is a safe fortress at sea? Great strategically. What if the wind goes dead? Fast vs powerful? But great pictures on every page.
Think you are smart? Test how smart you are when the results rely on the cooperation of weather. No wonder history is so screwed up.
Perhaps the most influential book on naval affairs to date, this copy is far better than most available. Still has the maps omitted in some versions, such as the B&N one I used to have. It shows how control of the ocean gives a significant advantage to the side which has it, and hammers home the proof of it. If other navies hadn't tended to concede the ocean to Britannia, we would have a much different world today, and this tells you exactly why.
Mahan's work well deserves its reputation as a classic. While his bias towards sea power is evident (and understandable, given that he was writing with an eye to political effect), he lucidly and cogently explains how sea power is underestimated as a critical "tip the balance" force in the wars of the Baroque and Enlightenment era. His arguments about the necessary of maintaining control of the seas are still highly relevant, and his pointed rejoinders to the supporters of the school of commerce-raiding, namely, that commerce raiding will be no more than a nuisance if you maintain control of the seas through a battle fleet, still ring true. This book is also a vivid depiction of strategic thinking in the late 19th century, with its emphasis on markets, coaling stations, lines of communication and so forth. In some ways the work is dated -- Mahan could not foresee the development of aviation, for example, or long range persistent submarines, both of which have obviously forever altered naval warfare -- its core strategic insights (seek out the centre of gravity of the opposing fleet, don't be distracted by secondary objectives, etc, are still valid. The only sections that clearly are of purely historical interests are those where he dwells on tactical ship handling in the age of sail. The lack of diagrams in this version make following his decriptions of specific battles very difficult (I frankly skimmed them and went straight to the concluding remarks in each chapter). Still very worth reading to the modern naval scholar.
I read this book primarily because of its great influence on decision makers and strategists when it was first published in 1890. A.T. Mahan has been described as one of the most influential authors of his time. Mahan was a career naval officer (Captain), Naval Academy graduate, and lecturer at the U.S. Naval War College.
The book is not and never was written for the general interest reader (like me). The reader must have an in-depth knowledge of European Wars (particularly naval actions) of the book's time frame. Additionally, the reader needs to intimately understand square-rigger sailing and fighting. The book is dense, repetitive, and its prose is not very good. Except for descriptions of naval engagements, which I found informative, I skimmed a good deal of the book. I'm also not sure all of Mahan's broad conclusions make sense. To be fair, though I have the benefit of hindsight.
I would only recommend this book to those highly interested in Mahan or his subject. One note the kindle version is free on .
Confession is supposed to be good for the soul. My confession is that I was aware of Mahan's seminal work on sea power for decades and included discussion of it in my history classes (FYI, I taught high school history for 13 years after 30 years in the Army.), but I had never read it.
The author clearly states the time period, 1660-1783, under study at the beginning. I would have preferred him to have started with the defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English in 1588, especially since he gave so much attention to the Punic Wars.
Although written in in 1889, Mahan foreshadowed the territorial gains made during the Spanish-American War almost a decade later when he stated the need for stations in the Caribbean. However, stating that "Such colonies the U.S. has not and is not likely to have," he did not anticipate that we would retain the Philippines as a colony.
While recognizing this book focuses on sea power, I feel that Mahan should have given some details on what was happening on the ground. For example, he give no details on the capture of Quebec.
I was disappointed that there was no concluding chapter. The ending with the treaties signed at Versailles in 1783 seemed abrupt.
Mahan's work had a major influence on the shaping of nations' military force structure for decades. Teddy Roosevelt and Winston Churchill are two among many who embraced the concepts contained in the book.
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