num_pages: 998
description: 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.
language: English
title: The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649 ­- 1815
titlecomplete: The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649 ­- 1815
characters: Horatio Nelson, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich
genres: Military Fiction, History, Military History, Maritime, 19th Century, War, 18th Century, Naval History, Nonfiction, British Literature
ratings_count: 387
places: Britain, British Empire
series: A Naval History of Britain
awards: awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: British Academy Book Prize
publisher: W. W. Norton & Company