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Struggle for Sea Power
- A Naval History of the American Revolution
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's summary
The American Revolution was a naval war of immense scope and variety, including no less than 22 navies fighting on five oceans - to say nothing of rivers and lakes. In no other war were so many large-scale fleet battles fought, one of which was the most strategically significant naval battle in all of British, French, and American history. Simultaneous naval campaigns were fought in the English Channel, in the North and Mid-Atlantic, in the Mediterranean, off South Africa, in the Indian Ocean, in the Caribbean, in the Pacific, in the North Sea and, of course, off the Eastern Seaboard of America. Not until the Second World War would any nation actively fight in so many different theaters.
In The Struggle for Sea Power, Sam Willis traces every key military event in the path to American independence from a naval perspective, and he brings this important viewpoint to bear on economic, political, and social developments that were fundamental to the success of the Revolution. In doing so, Willis offers valuable new insights to American, British, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Russian history. The result is a far more profound understanding of the influence of sea power upon history, of the American path to independence, and of the rise and fall of the British Empire.
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Although previously undervalued for their strategic impact because they represented only a small percentage of total forces, the Union and Confederate navies were crucial to the outcome of the Civil War. In War on the Waters, James M. McPherson has crafted an enlightening, at times harrowing, and ultimately thrilling account of the war’s naval campaigns and their military leaders. McPherson recounts how the Union navy’s blockade of the Confederate coast, leaky as a sieve in the war’s early months, became increasingly effective as it choked off vital imports and exports.
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From Offshore, This War Looks Completely Different
- By John on 04-30-21
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Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates
- The Forgotten War That Changed American History
- By: Brian Kilmeade, Don Yaeger
- Narrated by: Brian Kilmeade
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa's Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford.
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Interesting history - terrible narrator
- By CJF on 12-08-15
By: Brian Kilmeade, and others
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Six Frigates
- By: Ian W. Toll
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
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Before the ink was dry on the U.S. Constitution, the establishment of a permanent military had become the most divisive issue facing the new government. Would a standing army be the thin end of dictatorship? Would a navy protect American commerce against the Mediterranean pirates, or drain the treasury and provoke hostilities with the great powers? The founders, particularly Jefferson, Madison, and Adams, debated these questions fiercely and switched sides more than once.
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BE ADVISED THIS BOOK IS ABRIDGED
- By George Carpenter III on 09-11-08
By: Ian W. Toll
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Cochrane
- The Real Master and Commander
- By: David Cordingly
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Nicknamed le loup des mers ("the sea wolf") by Napoleon, Thomas Cochrane was one of the most daring and successful naval heroes of all time. In this fascinating account of Cochrane's life, historian David Cordingly unearths startling new details about the real-life "Master and Commander", from his daring exploits against the French navy to his role in the liberation of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, and the shock exchange scandal that forced him out of England and almost ended his naval career.
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There is a better book on Lord Cochrane
- By Mark G on 07-20-15
By: David Cordingly
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Revolution on the Hudson
- New York City and the Hudson River Valley in the American War of Independence
- By: George C. Daughan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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No part of the country was more contested during the American Revolution than the Hudson River. In 1776 King George III sent the largest amphibious force ever assembled to seize Manhattan and use it as a base from which to push up the Hudson River Valley for a rendezvous at Albany with an impressive army driving down from Canada. George Washington and other patriot leaders shared the king's fixation with the Hudson.
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Tough Criticism But Fair
- By Blue on 03-15-21
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Brothers at Arms
- American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It
- By: Larrie D. Ferreiro
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In this groundbreaking, revisionist history, Larrie D. Ferreiro shows that at the time the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord the colonists had little chance, if any, of militarily defeating the British. The nascent American nation had no navy, little in the way of artillery, and a militia bereft even of gunpowder. In his detailed accounts, Ferreiro shows that without the extensive military and financial support of the French and Spanish, the American cause would never have succeeded.
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Rebels at Sea
- Privateering in the American Revolution
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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The heroic story of the founding of the US Navy during the Revolution has been told many times, yet largely missing from maritime histories of America's first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels that truly revealed the new nation's character. In Rebels at Sea, Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission, and contends that privateers, as they were called, were in fact critical to the American victory. Privateers were privately owned vessels that were granted permission by the new government to seize British merchantmen and men of war.
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If you can get over the narrator...
- By Toby Everett on 09-20-22
By: Eric Jay Dolin
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Jefferson's War
- America's First War on Terror, 1801-1805
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Two centuries ago, without congressional or public debate, a president who is thought of today as peaceable, Thomas Jefferson, launched America's first war on foreign soil, a war against terror. The enemy was Muslim; the war was waged unconventionally, with commandos, native troops, and encrypted intelligence, and launched from foreign bases.
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A Great Read
- By Donald on 06-19-05
By: Joseph Wheelan
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Conquerors
- How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Conquerors tells the almost forgotten story of how Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.
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Beautifully balanced
- By Nigel Roberts on 05-08-16
By: Roger Crowley
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The U.S. Navy
- A Concise History
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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This fast-paced narrative traces the emergence of the United States Navy as a global power from its birth during the American Revolution through to its current superpower status. The story highlights iconic moments of great drama pivotal to the nation's fortunes: John Paul Jones' attacks on the British in the Revolution, the Barbary Wars, and the arduous conquest of Iwo Jima.
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Great History Novel of Navy
- By Danelle Hites on 11-02-16
By: Craig L. Symonds
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Give Me a Fast Ship
- The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea
- By: Tim McGrath
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 19 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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America in 1775 was on the verge of revolution - or, more likely, disastrous defeat. After the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord, England's King George sent hundreds of ships westward to bottle up American harbors and prey on American shipping. Colonists had no force to defend their coastline and waterways until John Adams of Massachusetts proposed a bold solution: The Continental Congress should raise a navy. Meticulously researched and masterfully told, Give Me a Fast Ship is the definitive history of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War.
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I learned so much
- By William on 05-08-17
By: Tim McGrath
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To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth
- The Epic Hunt for the South's Most Feared Ship—and the Greatest Sea Battle of the Civil War
- By: Tom Clavin, Phil Keith
- Narrated by: Joe Knezevich
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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On June 19, 1864, just off the coast of France, one of the most dramatic naval battles in history took place. On a clear day with windswept skies, the dreaded Confederate raider Alabama faced the Union warship Kearsarge in an all-or-nothing fight to the finish, the outcome of which would effectively end the threat of the Confederacy on the high seas.
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description of battle
- By Amazon Customer on 10-26-24
By: Tom Clavin, and others
What listeners say about Struggle for Sea Power
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Martin
- 10-12-23
A great listen.
One of the best naval warfare stories of all time. The epilogue is a great look at what followed at the conclusion of the war.
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-22-22
A great book on a little known subject
This book is well worth reading if one is interested in naval history, especially that of the American Revolution.
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- Dennis Jameson
- 12-18-19
An Important but misunderstood topic,
Book is very good on the political, diplomatic and strategic importance of sea power from the American point of view. Not so good on technical and tactical detail. There is a lot of both technical and tactical information regarding naval weaponry and their application as well as tactics in the age of sail, so its hard to understand how badly he get tactics and weaponry wrong. On the other hand he quotes from primary sources when discussing the political, diplomatic and strategic ball of wax which are all so intertwined, that it is impossible to separate out with a lot of fresh information.
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- fair & balanced
- 07-02-18
Definitely not taught in BigFedGov schools
A fascinating read the beginnings of our Navy how the American revolution, fought on many fronts in multiple parts of the world.
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- Anon
- 05-24-16
Seapower redefined
I learned much especially since the author presented a global perspective of the war. I was amazed to learn of the foreign powers involved around the world.
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- Derail
- 02-09-19
Intricate and Intriguing
Loved this book. The focus on the small details that effected the big picture was not too dry. Having never read much about this period of naval history, I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. I listened to the book twice and enjoyed it more the second time.
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- Thomas
- 09-08-16
Our contemporary Samuel Eliot Morison
As an avid reader of naval history, I found this book to be superb. I look forward to reading anything this author writes in the future.
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- Roger
- 11-17-23
Fascinating perspective
This is a far-reaching discussion of the uses, and the limitations, of sea (used to include oceans, bays, harbors, rivers and lakes) power during the American Revolution. Willis describes not only the movements of the fleets and the battles between them, but also the strategies of politicians, admirals and generals based on the use, or lack of availability, of their own ships and the threats or absence of the enemies’ ships. He also explains the strategic choices that nations had to make in deploying their fleets and the tradeoffs such choices entailed.
Willis further describes the logistical challenges of creating, outfitting and crewing ships and then of keeping the ships and their crews in fighting condition.
Most impressively, he explains how the use or misuse of sea power affected the plans and operations of the armies on the ground.
Willis has employed a fascinatingly grand perspective on the global developments that helped lead to the success of the Revolution. In retrospect, it seems like an obvious perspective, but I am unaware that such a global, strategic perspective has been used before. It is a refreshing and welcome addition to the literature.
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- Clayton
- 03-08-16
Very fine
This book explores aspects of the American Revolution not addressed in most American curricula. I can only wish that it had been longer and more detailed...
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. Mar
- 04-20-21
Fantastic perspective on American Revolution
I hung on every word in this Audible book. The narration was great as is expected from Derek Perkins. To me,, this book widened the lens on the events just before and during the American Revolution. The scale and scope of everything I once understood increased or expanded significantly. Like going from 35mm to IMAX. The American Revolution once bored me (for whatever reason). Well not anymore. I plan to read (or listen to) considerably more histories on the time period because of this book. I bought the next Sam Willis book and look forward to his other works.
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1 person found this helpful