San Antonio College Library

"James Cable picks the political plums from five centuries of naval history. He examines episodes in which a government chose naval force as the instrument of a political purpose and cites examples in which the objective was clear and success or failure apparent. History does not repeat itself, but it can echo down the centuries and offer useful lessons for today and tomorrow."--Jacket

A great deal of the world's history is the history of empires. Indeed it could be said that all history is colonial history if one takes a broad enough definition and goes back far enough. And although the great historic imperial systems--the land-based Russian one as well as the seaborne empires of western European powers--have collapsed during the past half century, their legacies shape almost every aspect of life on a global scale. Meanwhile there...