NAM Rodger?s The Command of the Ocean, the second part of his naval history trilogy that began with The Safeguard of the Sea, describes Britain?s rise to naval greatness during the period 1649-1815 when she finally gained sovereignty of the seas around the British Isles. It ably demonstrates the importance of naval history to the life of government and the nation; links naval history with political, social, economic, diplomatic, administrative, medical and religious history and charts the naval histories of Britain?s enemies and neighbors including France, Holland, Spain, Denmark and the United States.

Have no doubt, this is a brilliant piece of scholarship, cleverly organized and wonderfully written. Given the promising subject matter of naval warfare to work with it is not surprising that an historian with literary flair can produce a gripping narrative. Perhaps what is surprising is that half the book is devoted to the seemingly mundane background of naval history--how the Navy was managed, financed, directed, and supplied with materials, how the men were fed and so on--rather than the showy foreground, yet it remains a deeply engrossing read throughout. The secret of Rodger?s success is not just down to the cracking narrative and fine scholarship but partly to the way he has organized his material. The main body of the book is arranged into four parallel streams: policy, strategy and naval operations; finance, administration and logistics; social history; and finally the tools of sea-power, ships and weapons. These four themes are broken up into thirty six relatively small chapters each covering a certain time span. Constructing the book in this way has certain practical advantages for the reader. Most importantly, separating the key themes and alternating between them keeps the narrative fresh and interesting while giving the reader the best chance of taking on board the who, what, where, when, how and why of things without losing either the sense of continuity or one?s bearings. Over 100 pages of information are left outside the main body of the text: the front of the book contains several maps, a useful chart listing dates, battles and the names of the ships involved while the back contains an English glossary, a general chronology and appendixes on ships, fleets, rates of pay, Admirals and officials, manpower and naval finance. Rodger?s choice of structure along with his great story-telling abilities means we can assimilate the maximum amount of information with a minimal degree of effort while being thoroughly entertained along the way. On the whole The Command of the Ocean is one those rare specimens that will simultaneously stimulate the specialist and greatly please the general reader. --Larry Brown

2008-05-12 Something stops this from being 5 stars for me...

First things first, it's all here! Maybe that's a problem, whether you want to know about recruitment systems, pay, battles or ship design it's all in this book. They are all discussed in great depth and length. This book "does exactly what it says on the tin" (to quote an advert) and if it's British and floated during this period it's discussed in this doorstop of a book. The research is first class and the explanations are always lucid.

My other nagging concern is this is the pinnacle of the greatest maritime power the world has ever seen. Epic battles, great exploration, larger than life characters- it should be fun, exciting, breathless. Instead, while the style isn't turgid, it lacks the zest and narrative style needed to suck the reader into the moment Nelson is shot or the battle at Quiberon bay.

The more I think about it, the more I think that that's the issue. The style is too consistent, discussing the evolution of the ships of the line is important but it shouldn't be written the same way as era defining battles on the sea where great empires clash for world supremacy.

So this is a very well researched book and if you want to know everything about this period then this is the book for you but be warned that while it can make the dry areas interesting the same style can make the interesting areas a bit dry.