IEWS Maritime Supremacy and the Opening how a failure to recognize and act upon the of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns potential of maritime power led, at pivo tal that Shaped the Modern World, by Peter points in history, to the decline in geopoPadfield (The O ve rlook Press, Woodstock lirical relevance for countries like Spain NY, 2000, 340pp, illus, gloss, ._,...,. .... ~.~:"..':~~~"~"'"-"'"''" and France. Those examples notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1and the circumstances that sur58567-002-2; $35hc) rounded their decline in mari1 At a time when Americans' SU P MACY time power surely are of more than passing interest for Ameawareness of th e importance of rica at the beginning of the our maritime power is at low 21st century. ebb, Peter Padfield' s Maritime Reading Ma ritime SupreSupremacy is an eye-opener. In macy will be an enjoyable and the first sentence of his Intromentally stimulating experiduction, the author establishes ence for anyone interested in just how expansive the paramthe pervasive influence of the eters of his exposition are goon our lives and fortunes. sea ing to be: "Maritime supremacy is the key which unlocks most, if not all, And even those who are merely fascinated large question s of modern history ... how by the sea will find that this illuminating and why we-th e Western democracies- work establishes a rich intellectual context are as we are." Then, in fo urteen chap ters for the stories of writers like C. S. Forester that begin in the 1400s and end with the and Patrick O 'Brian. RADM JOSEPH F. CALLO, USNR (RET) founding of the U nited Stares, 2 1 illustraKansas City, Missouri tions, seve n maps and seven battle di agrams, he pays off wh at at first seems to be the book's extravagant promise. And h e The Prize of All the Oceans: The Dramatic True Story of CommodoreAnson' s does so with an engaging style. Maritime Supremacy places such topics Voyage Round the World and How He as battle tac tics, national power proj ectio n Seized the Spanish Treasure Galleon, by and matters of military technology within G lyn Williams (Viking Penguin, New York a confluence of more profoundly powerful NY, 2000, 285pp, illus, appen, so urces, forces. At one point, the author- who has ISBN 0-670-89197-5; $27.95 hc) "I have but five-and-forty men before written on maritime subj ects from submarine operations in the Second World War the M as t and some of them have not recovto a history of decisive naval campaigns - ered their senses, for numbers turned mad cap tures the sp irit of his mission when he and idiots with the Scurvy." This sentence refers to "the difference between true m ari- written by Commodore George Anson on time power and the mere possession of a 7 December 1742 assesses the debilitated first-cl ass navy. " And as he progresses state of his crew aboard HMS Centurion through his wo rk, he skillfully illuminates (60 guns) on his famous voyage aro und the how trade, finance, geography, political world. He departed with six vessels carryfreedom, a merchant class and even cul- ing 1900 seamen and marines. Three of the tural tone must be interwoven to reach an vessels were lost, two turned back after a adequate understanding ofmaritime power. terrible experience doubling Cape Horn, What emerges from these pages is not and 1400 of the men died before the triumjust th e sto ry of how political and military phant return to England in 1744. Most power linked to the sea have made nations were lost to scurvy and starva tion . Amazing tales of desperation at sea fill great. Rather it is a fascinating analysis of how the most fundamental elements of this volume. Anson was an able and sympamaritime strength-"liberty, tolerance and thetic (for the age) commander, and worked wealth"-in timely co mbination, " un- alongside the crew when it was necessary. locked natural genius." In the process, Pad- But he was not th e on ly exceptional person field rakes the reader to a dimension be- on this expedition. The wreck of the 599yo nd the now-classic early-20th-century ton Wager off the coast of Chile resul red in sea power theories ofAlfred Thayer Mahan. a daring voyage by the survivors in a small Arguably the most provocative features boat commanded by the ship's gunner of Maritime Supremacy are the exam pl es of through the Strait of Magellan. By late
{_~\\< \M~rf\ , SHIPS
MARITIME
SEA HISTORY 96, SPRING 2001
iiJ.
. Fill your sails. -~ill your spirit. . Maine ¡wind.Jammer llSSOCIAT/ON
'lV.T. I
RARE, ORIGINAL
ANTIQUE SEA CHARTS &MAPS 17th - 20th Century
U.S . & Worldwide
@'
Free listings. Please specify regi ons of interest.
§'RACE ('.i'ALLERIES, lNC.
20 West C und y's Po int Road Harpswell, Maine 04079 USA (207) 729 -1329 Fax (207) 729-0385 E-mail jackie@gracega lleri es.com web www.gracegalleries.com
39