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

An Economist Best Book of 2004: "Destined to remain the reference on the subject for the coming generations."―U.S. Naval Institute

The Command of the Ocean describes with unprecedented authority and scholarship the rise of Britain to naval greatness, and the central place of the Navy and naval activity in the life of the nation and government. Based on the author's own research in a dozen languages over more than a decade, it describes not just battles, voyages, and cruises but also how the Navy was manned, supplied, fed, and, above all, how it was financed and directed.

N. A. M. Rodger provides convincing reassessments of such famous figures as Pepys, Hawke, Howe, and St. Vincent. The very particular and distinct qualities of Nelson and Collingwood are illuminatingly contrasted, and the world of officers and men who make up the originals of Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower is brilliantly brought to life. Rodger's comparative view of other navies―French, Dutch, Spanish, and American―allows him to make a fresh assessment of the qualities of the British. 24 pages of illustrations

N. A. M. Rodger is emeritus fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and professor of naval history at the University of Exeter. He has been awarded the Julian Corbett Prize in Naval History, the Duke of Westminster’s Medal for Military Literature, and the Hattendorf Prize. He lives in Oxford.