Customer Reviews

To Rule the Waves

5 star:		(5)
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This book is hard to put down, which is an enormous feat for a history book. It's NOT perfect, but since 4 stars isn't going to be fair, I have to give it a 5.

The book tells us the story of the British Navy from the days of Hawkins and Drake, to Robert Blake, to Vernon, Anson and Nelson, to Fisher and Jutland, to its decline post WW2, and to its mini-revival in the Falklands War. Through this book, we know, for example, that Britain didn't immediately become Mistress of the Sea after their defeat of the Spanish Armada. The Dutch did, ruling the sea for more than half a century. We also learn that while Spain declined after Armada, it was a l-o-n-g decline, the flow of silver from Latin America actually increased 100 years after 1588.

We learn about the so many near disasters during the long rivalry with France, from Louis XIV to Napoleon. That the demands of keeping the Navy may have led to the American Revolution. We learn about Dreadnought, and how it may have triggered WW1, which of course led to a lot of other terrible things. (TIME magazine called Gavrilo Princip the triggerman of the 20th century, this book tells us Dreadnought played a heavier hand than we realize.)

Churchill also takes a beating here, in both World Wars, but even a Churchill fan would welcome this other look at his hero, who was clearly a flawed great man.

Above all, we learn that the Navy earned its place of honor because of the courage, skill and determination of its officers and men, and because it had the fierce support of its politicians and its people. When the latter disappeared, when priorities shifted elsewhere, the Navy declined, but happily, the skill and courage of the men remained.

The storytelling is riveting, from beginning up to the time of Jutland. However, it suddenly drops off after that. Compared to the rest of the work, the author practically passes over WW2, when the Navy clearly was in decline. The British feat of breaking the German Enigma is credited almost solely to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park, even though it was also a Navy effort. It was the listening stations at Scapa Flow that picked up transmissions, and it was the men of the Royal Navy who seized the enigma machines from U-boats. One of them even died, sinking with the sub. Basically, the storytelling got thinner with the declining fortunes of the subject.

There were also confusing spellings of names. Boscawen's name appears in at least two versions, sometimes within two pages of one another. And in one battle with the French, the French flagship is first identified as the "Orient", then in subsequent paragraphs it becomes the "Orion". No small matter, especially because the "Orion" happens to be a British ship also fighting in the same battle.

Again, while that seems like a load of complaints, the book still rates a 5-star because:

"This book is hard to put down, which is an enormous feat for a history book."

Arthur Herman has written a very balanced popular history of the British navy and it's importance to the development of world history over a period of 500 years. A topic this vast requires a monumental task of synthesis and his account is accessible and entertaining as well as enlightening to the general reader. With the added bonus of occasionally shedding light on the origins of certain terms that are used in every day speech that have nautical roots, the exploration of the amazing parade of historical characters that made the Royal Navy what it was ,To Rule The Waves is a wonderful read for anyone with an interest in European or Colonial history and especially for those with an interest in British history.

Characters from Drake to Raleigh to Cook to Nelson to Darwin and more populate this history and in Herman's account the historical threads that unite them all are clear if sometimes somewhat simplified to facilitate the narrative.

Some reviewers have pointed out some inaccuracies but I would say that for a subject of this scope he has done an admirable job of presenting a one volume history.

This book was an excellent history of the British Navy. It has the great battles like Trafalgar - I especially learned a great deal about Nelson and his impact on the British Navy - as well as Winston Churchill's role in shaping the British Navy. I also learned a great deal about Elizabeth's response to the Spanish Armada and her mistreatment of her own seamen upon their return (or attempted return) to safety, as well as piracy and the British responses to it.

I really enjoyed this book. It's very comprehensive and thorough. All the stories within it are very interesting and the book is extremely well written.

If you like this book, you may also want to read the influential and very important book the Influence of Sea Power Upon History by Alfred Thayer Mahan written around 1890. Many of the leaders of the world's navies read it and it had a very big influence on them and their shaping of their navies and the commensurate Naval arms race that developed in the first half of the twentieth century (especially after World War I and prior to World War II).

This is a comprehensive history of the British people and sea-power. It is very-well written and reads almost like a novel. Hard to put down! While it is balanced and forth-right, it necessarily leads to the author's thesis that the Royal Navy shaped he modern world more than any other institution. It is surely as much a great theme of history as was the Roman Empire. Highly recommended reading to those who care about history or about naval matters.

This history of the British Navy is well written, an easy read, and a great adventure. No force of men have had a more important and exciting role in shaping the modern world. A great read about great men.