Wednesday 22 December 2010

Alfred Thayer Mahan



The very serious looking gentleman in the picture is none other than the celebrated naval strategist A. T. Mahan. His most famous work was of course The Influence of Sea Power upon History 1660 - 1783. His theories of the use of large fleets found a ready audience in the shaping of the naval policies of the US, Great Britain, Germany and Japan. Time and the technological impact of the submarine and of aircraft reduced the effectiveness of some of his ideas but his influence on the strategic planning of the navies above was far reaching and of considerable longevity.

The reason this has come up is simply down to me trawling through a couple of free ebook sites to add to my reader. I have never read Mahan's work although am aware of it. I was delighted then, to not only find a copy of this to download but also some of his other work. He wrote many other works of naval interest including titles covering the naval operations of the American War of Independence and, much closer to my current interest, the naval actions along the Mississippi during the civil war. This formed volume 3 of a naval history of the civil war and was devoted to the actions along the inland waterways to the Gulf. Needless to say, a full report will be made once I have read this title and I am very pleased to have had the chance to add this to my collection.

4 comments:

Paul O'G said...

Oh yes, I know this chap and his famous work well. Dont read it without then reading Julian Corbett's "Some Principles of Maritime Strategy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Corbett

David Crook said...

Hi Tas,

I have just seen that the Corbett title is on Gutenburg so I shall add that to my rapidly growing E library.

Many thanks for the heads up,

DC

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

After you read it a beginner's summary post would be appreciated :)

David Crook said...

Hi Geordie,

Naturally old chap - just domt expect it anytime soon!

All the best,

DC