The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649--1815

Generally I think the negative reviews of this book can be lumped together as the product of a rather triumphantilist strain of American History teaching that treats the Glorious Revolution, the American War of Independence etc. as a glorious chain of events in the march of liberty that are not only undoubtedly good and of immense import, but also predestined. This strain of pedagogy ignores the great deal of ambiguity that existed about these events as they happened and in the process distorts our vision of history by making it decidedly one-sided. To answer a few objections offhand: The War of 1812 was not important for anyone that didn't live in North America. Period. The only British subjects for which that conflict was of great importance were the Canadians, and that's because in the war of 1812 we Americans tried and failed to invade their country for the last time. A few frigate actions do not make the creation of a great naval power--that would take the Spanish-American War and a couple of World Wars to do, and furthermore it is not the American Navy's history that is being recorded in the chapters in question, nor the history of the war of 1812 as such, but the history of the Royal Navy during the period, and for the Royal navy battles of scratch-built boats on lakes, however courageously fought, or frigate-duels, however inspiring, were not particularly important compared to Napolean. The same can be said of the War of Independence: the actions of John Paul Jones were courageous and inspiring, but how important were they or anything else the Continental Navy's rather paltry fleet did in comparison to the thirty some ships of the line that were ready to invade England? Or the fact that by 1781 Britain was at war with every major naval power in Europe? Again, it's the Royal Navy we're talking about, not the American War as such, and it's what's important to the Royal Navy that's important to Rodger. As to the Glorious Revolution, I suspect that when you take Locke not as a timeless champion of liberty but as a political partisan writing on behalf of a foreign usurper, that things will indeed look quite a bit like they did to Rodger. Though one does wonder if James' Catholicism is played down in order to play up the drama of the coup, ultimately the glorious revolution is not Rodger's subject here. In general, I'd say Rodger tries to explain and clarify the prevailing sentiments of the time when he touches on larger events of British and World History, and that negative reviewers are offended that this does not accord with their perception of the same events, viewed from a contemporary (often American-centric) perspective. Most other objections can be countered by saying that Rodger isn't writing about XY and Z, he's writing about the Royal Navy, and if one keeps this in mind I find it hard to imagine that you won't have the greatest appreciation for this book.

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.

NAM Rodger's name is already well-known to students of the Royal Navy during the great age of sail, particularly for his "The Wooden World". His "The Command of the Ocean" is a superlative history of the Royal Navy during its rise to dominance at sea and of its period of greatest achievement and glory -- the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars when it was Britain's primary weapon in the struggle with France. Besides being a compelling narrative of more than a century and a half of naval history, Rodger's book is also a compendium of detailed information about the Royal Navy as an institution. Fans of the nautical novels of O'Brian and Forester would do well to read "The Command of the Ocean" for a more complete understanding of the world in which their fictional heroes lived.

This volume continues the author's brilliant elucidation of the history of the British navy, so ably begun with The Safeguard of the Sea. The author addresses the navy as a multi-faceted institution, influencing and being influenced by the evolution of politics, taxation, government finance, trade and bureaucracy. Though focused upon the British navy, the book includes a collateral and comparative consideration of naval institutions in France, Spain and Holland. The author serves up a generally savory mixture of impeccable scholarship and pungent opinion. Nevertheless, American readers may find distasteful his dismissive attitude toward the outcomes of the American Revolution (the "American War") and the War of 1812, and their implications for British naval policy. Like its predecessor, this volume is chaptered by theme within broad time periods. The thematic structure facilitates the development of theses concerning social organization, finance and the like. The book also includes a Glossory (invaluable)and statistical appendices (valuable, but not priceless). I await with interest a further volume in this series -- when the author will have to come to terms with the ascendancy of the United States Navy, and modify his thusfar appropriate Euro-centrism. Yankee pride aside, this is an absolutely marvelous book.

Rodger has written an excellent book that details why the Royal Navy triumphed over the French in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. According to Rodger the reasons for British naval superiority were better maintanence, superior ship design, more effective officer training, and improved health measures. The British were able to keep their ships afloat because they invested a great deal of money in buiding docks that were able to fix ships of the line as opposed to the French, who sacrificed dock building in favor of making new ships. The British also had rugged ships that with bronze plating could outrun their French counterparts that were of a lighter design. British officer training was more practical since it was aboard ships as opposed to the classroom eduction of the French officers. Finally the British were able to triumph over the French because they were able to keep their sailors healthy by a better diet than their French counterparts, and constantly cleaning the interiors of the ships as opposed to the French, who neglected these health measures.The main weakness of Rodger's book is that he seems to gloss over British naval operations, but despite this weakness, Rodger gives credible reason why the Royal Navy defeated the French on consistent basis.