The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery [Paperback]

Paul M. Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591023742 | ISBN-13: 978-1591023746 | Publication Date: October 30, 2006 | Edition: 2

First published in 1976, this book is the first detailed examination of the history of British sea power since A T Mahan's classic "The Influence of Sea Power on History", published in 1890. In analysing the reasons for the rise and fall of Great Britain as a predominant maritime nation in the period from the Tudors to the present day, Professor Kennedy sets the Royal Navy within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategical considerations. A new introduction has been added on the implications of the Falklands war, not only for the future of the British Navy, but also for the defence policies of the government of the day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As soon as it appeared in 1976, Paul M. Kennedy's magisterial survey of the historical role and significance of British seapower was recognized by serious naval historians as a work of the first importance...." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Paul Kennedy is a Professor of History at Yale University. His books include The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and Preparing for the Twenty-First Century. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 405 pages
• Publisher: Humanity Books; 2 edition (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591023742
• ISBN-13: 978-1591023746
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,906 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb work by Kennedy, March 1, 2006

By 

James Levy (Levittown, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rise And Fall of British Naval Mastery (Paperback)

First, a couple of notes on earlier reviews. Kennedy wrote this book ten years before Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, not as a compilation afterwards. Second, he doesn't talk about the US Navy because it is not the subject of his book. He is not biased by writing a history of the Royal Navy and sticking to the Royal Navy--the reviewer who imagines the US Navy as so important as to need discussion in a book about the RN is. Third, US monitors were, compared to the broadside ironclads like HMS Warrior being built across the sea, a joke.
The book's strength is in ascribing the interplay of finance, trade, and strategic necessity their rightful place at the center of both British history and the history of the Royal Navy. Britian had the best navy for much of the period 1588-1942 because it needed it, could afford it, and could lavish money on it because it didn't have to simultaneously maintain a large army. What killed the Royal Navy was not just industrial decline, but also the need to create a first-class air force because the navy could no longer defend the metropole on its own. By 1938, the RAF supplanted the RN as the biggest beneficiary of defense spending. That was the point of no return.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well researched, June 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery (Paperback)

Very well written and interesting. Not nearly as dry as I thought it'd be and it explained quite a bit as to the forces which led to the rise of Western Civ. Also possibly prophetic although some of Kennedy's statements here seem to contradict his very popular "Rise & Fall of the Great Powers". Read both & actually I prefer this book. A must read for anyone interested in rounding out their knowledge of Naval history or even general Western History, 1500 to present. Kennedy does a superb job in documenting his information.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Major Work by An Eminent Historian, December 11, 2003

By 

Andrew Scott (Oakville, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery (Penguin Classic History) (Paperback)

This book was published in 1976, twelve years before the same author's Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. In this, his first major work, Kennedy picks up the threads of an area of historical enquiry which had begun with Alfred Thayer Mahan's Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783. Kennedy traces the rise, apotheosis, and decline of the command of the seas which upon which rested the power of Britain and her Empire. Kennedy approaches the questions around British sea power from a geopolitical perspective, emphasizing the economic underpinnings of British sea power. As Kennedy admits in his introduction, he devotes relatively little attention to the individual battles and admirals who stand out in the story of the Royal Navy. No attention is paid to life on the lower decks. That, however, was never Kennedy's purpose. Some of the analysis now seems rather dated, based as it is on sources which have been partly superseded by historiographical advances. Nevertheless, it stands as a fascinating work, taking in the sweep of international developments from an Olympian perspective.