Power at Sea, Volume 3: A Violent Peace, 1946-2006 Volume 3

I must agree with one reviewer that this book presents an excellent history and analysis of the US Navy from the end of the Second World War until 2006. Whether an author has a right to express political views which are as yet unsettled is a question that inspired two readers to submit highly unfavorable reviews (in and of themselves an expression of opposed political views that also remain unsettled). Personally, I had no difficulty separating out the author's opinions from his presentation of historical fact. His analysis is sound and is also easy to separate from his political views, which are, in fact, not at all unfavorable to the Navy, rather to the current administration (Bush Presidency).

Dr. Rose's third and final volume in his Power at Sea trilogy encompases some 60 years, a far longer time than the scope of either of the two earlier volumes. For that reason, it is a more difficult read but it is especially interesting because most of us lived through at least a part of that period. Dr Rose completes his excellent analysis of sea power by shining a bright light on several of the facets of this era that are not well known to the American public. I was particularly interested in learning that the U.S. Navy fought the Vietnam War with mostly World War II ships and in learning that for a time, before the fall of the Soviet empire, our navy might well have lost a major confrontation with the Soviet Navy had it occurred. There is much more to fascinate the reader as the U.S. Navy, inherently conservative, is forced to deal with a changing world, admit female sailors to its ranks, cope with modern youth, and search for a mission in a world that may never fight a major sea battle again. Anyone who has read the last two books of the series will definitely want to get this one.