To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World

Written by the highly regarded author Arthur Herman, this book was just recently published by Harper Collins. As a general comment this is not a narrow navy history book. In fact this is an impressive general interest history book that it will likely become a best seller. It manages to be comprehensive and well written, informative but entertaining. It does what a good book should do for the general reader - fill in many historical details since around 1500 and the time of the Tudors and Henry VIII to the present day. This was when the new world was discovered first by Columbus and others. The Royal Navy had its fitst growth spurt from 5 to 50 ships under the rule of Henry VIII. The author does all of this in an easy to read fashion. In some places the book is written in an easy flowing style almost like a novel, such as a Hornblower book or similar. Often he takes us through hurricanes, Atlantic storms and other adventures describing the scenes blow by blow with quotes from the participants. Other parts of the book contain reviews and discussions of historical developments and English politics. There are numerous references at the back of the book to support the quotations and details - about 50 pages of source notes. It is approximately 600 pages long and contains about eleven maps showing naval actions. It covers the history of the Royal Navy and its role in stopping Napoleon and projecting British power and helping colonial expansion around the world. It is very broad and wide ranging covering twenty two different topics in chronological order. The book starts with a dramatic description of John Hawkins an early English sailor and his group of five ships making their way through a tropical hurricane in the Caribbean in 1568 and their battle with Spanish treasure ships at San Juan de Ulloa. He goes to provide background information on England and the build up of the navy starting with Henry VIII, and its challenge to the large Spanish empire stretching from Tunisia to Manilla. Spain at that time received much wealth from silver mines in Peru and Mexico and was vulnerable on the open seas and small ports where the goods were transported. We read of Frobisher in the North Atlantic, Drake and his ship the Pelican in the Pacific, his secret around the world voyage, Elizabeth and the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the channel in 1588, English pirate ships (privateers), Cromwell and the 133 ship navy, and the consolidation of Scotland, Ireland, and England as a single political entity. We read of Anson and his many management changes to the navy in the mid 1700's, then a breakdown and loss of control of the seas in 1780 including simultaneous troubles in Gibraltar, America, and the West Indies with a land war in America. America was lost but Rodney stopped the French in Martinique and reversed the downward trend of the Royal Navy. We learn of new ship technology, political and historical changes, and more. The book continues and takes us thro

Arthur Herman's effort here is most impressive. He captures the complete Royal Navy's history from its most humble, if not dastardly, beginnings as privateers struggling for their very existence against the then world superpower, the Spanish, to its evolution as worldwide hegemonic force that supported a global empire, and to its eventual decline after World War II. The British Empire was built and sustained by the Royal Navy. Herman sustains this narrative from its start in the Elizabethan age to the present with unparalleled ability to capture and present the details with alacrity and conciseness. He never leaves the reader wondering what the point was or lost in a maze of pointless historical details. Ultimately, Herman shows that though the Pax Britannia has waned, its influence has not been lost. America as its geopolitical successor has presided over the Pax American. In this day and age of the Global War on Terrorism where the US is locked in a land battle in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are lessons to be learned from the Royal Navy. The broad strategic goals of the US need to be supported by a strong and modern blue ocean Navy. Herman links a strong Navy with a robust geopolitical strength and ultimately the ability to enforce a nation's will anywhere on the globe. In 2006 the US Navy plans on buying only four warships and to drop its aircraft carrier fleet from twelve to eleven, pointing to a shift in resources away from the Navy to its brethren in arms on the ground. While many argue that transformation will offset reductions to the size of the US Navy force, it should not be forgotten that quantity does have a quality all its own. It seems that this may be the price we will pay to conduct land operations in Iraq. But it may be price to high to sustain Pax Americana. As Herman pointed out in the last chapter, the Royal Navy was cut to sustain British Army obligations to NATO after World War II. It never recovered and neither did Britain as a world power.

This guy has copied and pasted exactly the same comments for several books. He's clearly got some kind of agenda. Here's the verbage: "I have never seen a book so full of factual errors as this one. There are better books out there on this subject - don't waste your money. Incidentally, Herman is a well-known white supremacist. Potential customers should keep this in mind (even if they don't have a problem with it)."

You can read many reviews that tout the historical content of this book so I won't bore you with that...but I will say that I enjoyed reading this book. Herman has a way of weaving a tale that makes the telling of history interesting. I finished this book in only a few days. I learned so much and it didn't feel like learning. I am not an expert in the accuracy of the history as some other reviewers are, but I will say that it had me recalling a bit of my formal education...and the American School system sucks. There is so much more out there and Herman, in my opinion, delivers it.

The subtitle of this book sets out the author's thesis and he amply demonstrates that contention by this good account of the British Navy from the 1500s till into the 20th century. This book tells well the story of exciting things, from well-known ones like the Armada in 1588 to lesser known but equally fascinating things such as the work that Samuel Pepys did to make the British Navy the dominant force it was in his day and in the days thereafter. Reading this book one understands William Cowper's lines in "The Castaway" when he says "No braver chief could Albion boast than he with whom he went, Nor ever ship left Albion's coast with warmer wishes sent," referring to Anson's trip around the world in 1740-1744. The Nelson story is well covered, as is the role of the British Navy in the 19th century. The book's footnoting leaves something to be desired, since only by referring to the endnotes themselves can you determine if a reference for a statement is given, and there is no bibliography as such. When will publishers learn that endnotes and footnotes in themselves do not take the place of a real bibliography? There are conclusions which some will quarrel with, and there are small mistakes, such on page 511 where it is stated that Wilson asked Congress to declare war on April 6, 1917, whereas the correct day is April 2, 1917, and on page 532 where the author says Mussolini invaded Yugoslavia in 1940, whereas it was Greece he invaded. But these are minor flaws which do not detract enough to give the book less than five stars.