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N. A. M. Rodger

The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815 Paperback – September 7, 2006

by N. A. M. Rodger (Author)

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"The Command of the Ocean" describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and government. It describes not just battles, voyages and cruises but how the Navy was manned, how it was supplied with timber, hemp and iron, how its men (and sometimes women) were fed, and above all how it was financed and directed. It was during the century and a half covered by this book that the successful organizing of these last three - victualling, money and management - took the Navy to the heart of the British state. It is the great achievement of the book to show how completely integrated and mutually dependent Britain and the Navy then became.

Print length

976 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

September 7, 2006
Dimensions

5.08 x 1.65 x 7.8 inches
ISBN-10

0141026901
ISBN-13

978-0141026909
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; paperback / softback edition (September 7, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 976 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141026901
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141026909
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 1.65 x 7.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #463,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,021 in Naval Military History
- #1,033 in England History

Customer Reviews:
100 ratings

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N. A. M. Rodger

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zoostra

Well-written but Solid Read

Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2016

Verified Purchase

This is seriously dense with facts, but is written in
a thoroughly engaging writing style.

Each chapter is relatively easy to grasp and will
end with well argued conclusions. Nevertheless,
you would need to read each chapter 20+ times
before you could remember all the facts.

Always mindful of the strategic and grand strategic
it constantly drills down to the contributions of
leadership, relationships, tactics, supply,
shipbuilding and the like. The role of winds and
currents also show the chokepoints of the seas.

Every chapter produces well argued
historical conclusions. For example, the first
couple of chapters show that Oliver Cromwell,
who executed the King and distrusted the
Royal Navy, was also the 'father' of England's
naval dominance.

This was based on his paranoia that the other
kingdoms / states of Europe were intent on
destroying the 'kingslayer'.

Cromwell's army henchmen brought
disciplined command, control and
communications to the navy, which
previously had ships act independently,
and built the efficient naval bureaucracy
and logistics infrastructure that made it
the world's best.

No prior knowledge required although I did
have to look up 'victual' which means
'provisions'.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kris L. Wright

Amazing book, but be ready to do the work!

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

It should be stated up-front that the information in this book can be overwhelming. Rodger does not intend to hold the hands of any readers attempting to make it through his comprehensive telling of the rise of the British Royal Navy as the dominant military force from the late 17th to early 19th century.

That said, if one enters this adventure (and it is an adventurous read, just in the scope of what is covered), it is best to have the Wikipedia app on your smart-phone/tablet, and keep it at the ready for the sheer sake of doing side research on the politics and important historical figures that helped shape the history of this continent during this century-and-a-half of European history. Rodger's work does not focus on the chronology of historical events, assumes a level of background knowledge of the goings-on during this time, and focuses instead on the inner workings of the administration of the Royal Navy.

The book is primarily broken into three subjects, and these subjects are explored for a chapter or two at a time as the book progresses through the time period covered. The subjects are as follows:

Operations - focusing on the background of the engagements and explorations of the Royal Navy. The focus, however, is mostly not about describing the minute by minute details of battles like Trafalgar or The Nile, but instead about the impacts of the Navy as a whole that these operations had on the history of Europe.
Administration - focusing on the inner workings and evolution of the Admiralty, Navy Board, and the men who were the important figures of shaping these organizations
Social History - describing the impacts that the Royal Navy was having on the people of Europe, and the impacts that the people of Europe were having on the Royal Navy. These sections are not primarily re-tellings of the overall history of Europe during this time, but there is enough of that here to keep you interested in doing background research on your own to fill in the missing pieces

Overall, this is an extremely thorough historical text, and if one is ready and willing to do the work it takes to have the entire perspective of the information that Rodger presents in this book, it is well worth the time.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

jkm3rd

Indispensible History of the Royal Navy's Evolution

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2007

Verified Purchase

NAM Roger's command of the English language, his delightful British-like asides and trenchant observations on personalities and happenstances, and his grasp of the British Navy in the period when it became the pre-eminent sea power of the world is a gripping narrative. The beauty of the work is that he also weaves in chapters at appropriate historical periods from 1649 to 1815 on the evolving social, economic and technological circumstances of not only Mother England but also those nations which she was opposing or allied with during this fascinating period of history.

Others above have criticized Rodger's revisionist tendency towards conservatism and I, also, found his description of some of the facets of "The American War" to be somewhat at odds with my own studies and perceptions. I can not comment on his overall bent in this direction, but found important items of which I was totally unaware about British and European history of this period. In all, a totally absorbing read if you are at all interested in this fascinating period of naval history. If you like Horatio Hornblower and Jack Aubrey, you'll love this background volume. But don't drop it on your foot! It's voluminous.

8 people found this helpful

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James Judge

This is a very detailed and nuanced history

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book blends the action on the water with the political jousting on land to give the reader a good sense of the complexity of each conflict. There is so much detail. (more than I am interested in knowing, but still fills out the picture). The key role that food for the sailors played, and how hard life was for the sailors was described clearly. Overall a great book, that is worth taking your time to finish.

Helpful

Geraldtonjjeeper

Naval Supremacy!

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2013

Verified Purchase

Following on from "Safeguard of the Sea", N.A.M. Rodgers continues his meticulous research and writes of the twists and turns, the battles and troubles overcome to build what was, for a couple of hundred years, the world's most powerful navy! The financing, management, crewing, rigging and building of these magnificent sailing fortresses is covered in his usual over abundance of information! Wonderfully replete after reading these two books, I look forward to the third book, should it ever hit the shelves! Thank you Mr Rodgers for the knowledge!!!

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Marvellous scope and tremendously thorough handling of the detail.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

All I would like to add to the other more substantial reviews is that in putting naval matters into a political context it caused me to realise how stereotyped were my views about Charles II and James II. That probably has a lot to do with the subject material of school history as taught fifty years ago. I was intrigued to read that a Public Accounts Committee is not a recent invention. Just occasionally the author might have tried harder to gently let some readers catch up with the form and type of Admiralty and naval administration actually in place on a given date.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Not the book I thought I was buying...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

Beware, this is not a book about the discovery, exploration, raising and conserving of the Mary Rose, Henry Vlll's doomed battle ship. This is an account of how the author 'found' evidence for the wreck and the story of his (no doubt admirable) efforts to promote its exploration. I bought this book thinking I was buying a history of the ship, its loss at sea near Portsmouth in the C16th and its raising and recovery in the 1980s - followed by some explanation of what was learned from it all. I was vastly disappointed! This is mostly about a man claiming to have 'found' the Mary Rose. No doubt someone will find this man's claim to fame worth reading... but the publishers would be more honest if they explained what the book is really about... As it is I feel robbed!

One person found this helpful

Greywolf

Scholarly but very readable

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2013

Verified Purchase

Rodgers works in the best scholarly tradition providing facts and figures to back up what he says and make his opinions convincing, yet he is at the same time very readable. Who were the crews and what were their lives like? He gives the human dimension as the same time as he highlights for the reader the importance of the Royal Navy for the develpment of the Britain that was to come

3 people found this helpful

John Jelley

Utterly authoritative and comprehensive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

If you are interested in this period of British naval history or you want to know about it you will not find a better book. It tells the story as it happened and is full of incisive comment. It’s brilliant.

Rumpty

Well Researched

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2013

Verified Purchase

It is a very detailed and informative book. The author has obviously done a lot of primary research and it has made me question the impression I have had on some historical characters and events.
If you are unfamiliar with the period covered and are looking for a quick overview, this is not the book for you. However, if you have already read other books on events in this period, then this is a must read because it will give a different perspective to many other sources.

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