The New York herald., 1921-01-30

THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL MAHAN: NAVAL
PHILOSOPHERS. By Charles Carlisle
Taylor. George H. Doran Company.
Reviewed by w. B. MCCORMICK.
TN May, 1890. few days after Admiral
Mahan's epochal work, "The Influence
= of Sea Power Upon History" was pub
lished Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Mahan:
During the last two days 1 have spent
half my time, busy as am. in reading your
book. That I found 1t interesting is shown
by the fact that having taken Il up I have
gone straight through arS finished 1t. I can
say with perfect sincerity tina. think it very
much the clearest and most instructive gen.
eral work of the kind with which am ac-
Quainted. 1t is a Dery good book-admirable,
and am greatly in error IL 1t does not be-
come classic" The correct Judgment of
the late President Roosevelt as to the worth
Of book was never more brilliantly justi-
fled than in the case of Admiral Mahan's g
immortal work on sea power. For, it is a
classic, and beginning with that volume he
wrote seventeen books between 1890 and
1918 that made him the leading authority
on naval affairs, particularly in their STRAIT
pliment Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge of the
British Navy paid his brother officer when
he wrote: Admiral Mahans opinions gov
ern the naval thought of the world to-day :"
Other Nations Quick to Recognize
~, The Great Importance of His Writings
Except for Roosevelt and a few American
Navy officers, Admiral Mahan's fellow coun-
trymen were not so quick to recognize the
value and Importance of his writings as
were the English, the Germans and the
Japanese. In view Of the fact that his two
greatest books on sea power were a glorifi-
cation of the British Navy and the forces
behind it, it was only natural that the Brit
ish should have an intense and affectionate
admiration for the American. England and
English universities were the first among
. nations and institutions of learning to pay
him public honors. Aid so it seems only
natural that it should be an Engshman
who has written the first biography of this
American Navy sofficer, the author being
Charles Carlisle Taylor, who was for some
years a British vice-consul in New York
city. How deeply Mr.. Taylor admired his
subject may be understood from the OPEN
Ing paragraph in the Introduction to his
volume, which Is dedicated to America, the
LAM Of boundless opportunity" He writes:
This work is the overflow Of an English
who by force of character overcame well
nigh insuperabe obstacles and, as the re-
suit of years of strenuous work and skilful
application of his superb mental powers,
earned for himself in the eyes of the world
the highest distinction yet accorded a naval
philosopher"
To say that this work is the first life of
Rear Admiral Alfred T. Mahan Is only a
partially correct statement, for in 1907 was
published From Sail to Steam: Recollec-
tions of Naval Life" in which Mahan set
down as much Of his autobiography as his
extraordinarily modest nature would Permit
him to confide to paper and print. This is
Mr.. Taylor's source book as it must be
always for those who wish to gain first hand
information of Mahans beginnings as a boy
at home, a midshipman at the Naval Acad-
emy. an officer of the "old navy" the first
lecturer on naval history and strategy at
the Naval War College and later the most
distinguished writer of his time naval
history. strategy and international affairs
from the naval viewpoint. Whether From
Sail to Steam" ever had any great vogue or
not this reviewer does not know. But he
holds it as one of the most delightful books
of memoirs in the world. And for any lover
of ships and the sea it Is a treasure house