Command of the Ocean

<p><em>The Command of the Ocean</em> 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. Based on the author's own research in a dozen languages over more than a decade it describes not just battles voyages and cruises but also how the Navy was manned supplied fed and above all how it was financed and directed.<br /><br />N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys Hawke Howe and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted and the world of officers and men who make up the originals of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower is brilliantly brought to life. Rodger's comparative view of other navies--French Dutch Spanish and American--allows him to make a fresh assessment of the qualities of the British.</p>