The British Battle Fleet: Its Inception and Growth Throughout the Centuries (Conway Classics)

Fred T Jane (1865-1916) could almost be termed the father of modern naval journalism. He produced his first reference book in 1882 at the time of the Royal Navy's bombardment of Alexandria, a collection of his own pen and ink sketches to inform the public about the ships taking part. Then followed his All the World's Fighting Ships in 1897, published since then as an annual reference book covering the world's navies.

In one sense Jane was a product of the time, reflecting public interest in naval affairs and the size of the world's fleets in particular, but he also helped to shape public perceptions. He increased public knowledge of the characteristics of warships, their armaments, propulsion and protection. He was a prolific writer, both of quasi-fiction and of valued references, but always his purpose was to add to public knowledge. The Imperial Russian Navy (1899) was followed by The Imperial Japanese Navy (1904), reflecting the Japanese victory over Russia that year. The public had to wait for The British Battle Fleet until 1912, when the naval arms race with Germany was nearing its climax.

The book is rightly seen as a classic, read as much for its views on the future of naval warfare as its detailed statistics. As Jane notes in his preface, it differs from most 'standard' histories in being concerned with the creation of fleets rather than arcane dissection of ancient sea-fights. He covers the whole sweep of British naval history from Alfred the Great to the era of the Dreadnought battleship, and the colour illustrations by W L Wyllie RA and an incisive introduction by the naval historian Antony Preston add a final flourish to a unique history.