Navies in History

Sea Power, Dec 1998 by Price, Jennifer M

NAVIES IN HISTORY, by Clark G. Reynolds. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1998. 296 pp. $35.00 hardcover, $24.95 paperback. [Phone: (800) 233-8764; Internet: www.usni.org] Navies in History is a general overview of the world's major naval powers through the ages, from Minoan Crete in BC 2000 to modem-day America approaching AD 2000.

Reynolds, an internationally respected naval historian, intended his book both to serve as an introduction for the general reader and student and, by examining why some navies succeed and others fail, to broaden the historical perspective of specialists and naval professionals. He achieves both of these ambitious but not always complementary goals. Navies in History is divided into 17 chapters that cover such topics as major and limited wars, fleet actions, commerce warfare, naval diplomacy, deterrence, strategy, tactics, and technology. With index, bibliography, four appendixes, seven maps, seven diagrams, and 11 black-and-white prints.