Other editions of book To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World by Herman, Arthur

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy - of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world. This P.S. edition features extra insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy -- of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world.This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how Britain's Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to power unprecedented in history. From its beginnings under Henry VIII and adventurers like John Hawkins and Francis Drake, the Royal Navy toppled one world eco-nomic system, built by Spain and Portugal after Christopher Columbus, and ushered in another -- the one in which we still live today.In the sixteenth century, such men as Hawkins, Drake, and Martin Frobisher were all seekers after their own fortunes as well as servants of their nation. But at the moment of crisis in 1588, they were able to come together to thwart Philip II of Spain and his supposedly invincible Armada. In the seventeenth century, the navy became the key to victory in the English Civil War and played a leading role on the world stage in the years of the Commonwealth and Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate. The navy's dominance allowed England's trade to boom and prosper. It sustained its colonies, reshaped its politics, and drew England, Scotland, and Ireland together into a single United Kingdom.It was this system that Napoleon had to break in order to make himself absolute master of Europe. And it was the Royal Navy, led by men like Horatio Nelson, that stopped him in his tracks and preserved the liberty of Europe and the rest of the world. That global order would survive the convulsions of the twentieth century and the downfall of the British Empire itself, as Britain passed its essential elements on to its successors, the United States and its navy.Illuminating and engrossing, To Rule the Waves is an epic journey from the age of the Reformation to the age of computer warfare and special ops. Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea; of heroic sailors, admirals, and aviators; of violent conflict and personal tragedy; of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world.

This is the story of an institution in which courage in battle and bravery in death were a byword, from Nelson's death at Trafalgar to Commander Robert Scott's death in the icy wastes of Antarctica. It is also the story of a military force very different from any other, with a cast of individual personalities, from Sir Frances Drake and Captain James Cook to Charles Darwin and Sir Winston Churchill. But above all, the Royal Navy is part of the story of how one nation rose to global dominance without precedent and without equal, even today. But it also facilitated trade and communication with every other part of the planet. Thanks to its navy, the British Empire became the first truly global community, bound together by law, language, and commerce - and by the 'hearts of oak' of British ships and sailors. It created the first balance of power in Europe and helped to free the Continent from a succession of dictators, from Philip II of Spain and Louis XIV of France to Napoleon and Hitler. It ended the African slave trade, opened the Pacific Rim to international commerce, and established the bonds that hold together today's world.

This is the story of how the British Navy came to dominate and shape modern history. It is the story of an institution in which courage in battle and bravery in death were a byword, from Nelson's death at Trafalgar to Commander Robert Scott's death in the icy wastes of Antarctica. It is also the story of a military force very different from any other, with a cast of individual personalities, from Sir Frances Drake and Captain James Cook to Charles Darwin and Sir Winston Churchill. But above all, the Royal Navy is part of the story of how one nation rose to global dominance without precedent and without equal, even today. But it also facilitated trade and communication with every other part of the planet. Thanks to its navy, the British Empire became the first truly global community, bound together by law, language, and commerce - and by the 'hearts of oak' of British ships and sailors.

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy -- of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.