To Rule the Waves Audiobook By Arthur Herman cover art

To Rule the Waves

How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World

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To Rule the Waves

By: Arthur Herman
Narrated by: John Curless
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About this listen

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy - of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world.

This P.S. edition features extra insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

©2004 Arthur Herman (P)2016 Recorded Books
Armed Forces Europe Great Britain Military Naval Forces England Royal Navy Inspiring British History
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Comprehensive History • Engaging Storytelling • Excellent Narration • Balanced Detail • Vivid Naval Battles
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Manages to bridge the gap between heavy intense history and a superb adventure story. One of the best general histories of the Royal Navy I have yet read. Much easier to listen to, and obviously less detailed than Massie's books but also far broader in scope.

Superb and easy to listen to.

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Well done, but the Brits didn't take Baltimore. Oh say can you see by the dawns early light?

Nice

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Did seem to in the later years become less informative and not as well written.

Good listen...very interesting and informative.

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Wonderful book. Entertaining and enlightening. Perhaps best history book I've ever encountered and I've read a lot of them

Best ever

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only one gripe: The history flowed well except for a portion in the 1820s thru 1890s where all the technological changes were discussed. some of theseninvolved a lot of jumping backward or forwards in time.

Aside from that this was one of the most interesting books I've listened to.

excellent history

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I served in the Army , so I didn't know alot about Naval History . Loved documentaries/movies (historical) about ships and naval warfare . Maybe something to do with touring the Battle Ship Texas so much . ( The world's last WW1 Dreadnought) .
This book is very informative . It also explains how Britain became an Empire , because of that navy . A navy that started out as basically pirates for the state ! And just laden with dates and places . Some of the things people experienced on this early ships and trips . Especially to the tropics ! From Hawkins and Drake , Cook and Bligh , to Admiral Nelson . A personal background on the times and people , and battles . Excellent narration !

Great history of the making of the British Navy !

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These types of books can easily turn dry and a chore to finish but there is a healthy amount of narrative for each era. Turns on the history go by really quickly since it couldn’t add all the details for 400 years. It covered everything in a good balance between detail and moving the book along.

Surprisingly entertaining

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First, I downgraded the performance not due to the reader but at certain points the audio muffles, fades or has a few other problems. When there wasn't production problems the reading was great.

The book covers the navy from its beginning, when it really wasn't a navy, until the Falklands. You can tell the author has a deep abiding love and respect for it and a touch of bitterness for its course after WWII. He does not shy from some of its controversial past such as its role in conducting the slave trade before changing missions to end it. He also addresses a few of the myths.

Although the battles are not ignored or slighted the real meat of the book is how the Navy shaped Britain and its government and how the people shaped the Navy. He highlights how the Navy was, in so many ways, the defining institution of the country. While you have Nelson and Drake Cook you also get the men who shaped, cultivated, grew and protected the institution itself and how they did it.

He does not ignore the good fortune of geography that allowed a barbaric remote island to come to dominate the oceans and the world. He shows how even the different sections of the country responded better to the sea, and why, than others.

This is an excellent book, not a short one, but it is good from either the standpoint of general or military history.

Deep affection for the British Navy

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This is a paean to the Royal Navy and makes no bones about it. Just about every major naval and remotely related technological achievement, including the discovery of America, is attributable to the British in this book. But it’s still a fun listen and gives a great overview of the entire history of the Royal Navy.

The biggest problem with this is the recording. Several times the ends of sentences just disappear either through inflection or possibly poor editing.

Fun if biased history, reading not quite there

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Arthur Herman’s love for the Royal Navy pours forth from every line. Every political injury to the RN is an abomination. Everything good about Great Britain and the lovable British Empire is present first and best in the RN. After twenty hours of this it becomes painful.

The story is well told. And this serves as good primer to the history of the Royal Navy. Areas where the RN falls short are not ignored, but are occasionally glossed over.

I recommend the book, but warn the listener to think critically about many of the conclusions of the book.

Love letter to the Royal Navy written with blind hindsight

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