Sea Power ─ The History and Geopolitics of the World's Oceans

From one of the greatest admirals of his generation, the former commander of NATO and the current head of the Fletcher School for Diplomacy, a tour d'horizon of the world's most strategically important bodies of water. 

Over 90% of the world's trade is conveyed by ship; the oceans are truly the planet's circulatory system, and the home of some of its most ominous geopolitical flashpoints. But few of us truly appreciate the importance of the world's seas, throughout history and in the present moment. One who does, profoundly, is Admiral Jim G. Stavridis, one of the most decorated naval officers of our time and the only admiral ever to be named commander of NATO. In Sea Power, Stavridis has distilled a phenomenal amount of knowledge and wisdom about the seas into a fascinating reckoning with their importance to the human story--and to America's vital national interests today. 

Stavridis puts us at the helm of a US Navy ship, navigating the geography of each body of water, so that we understand how its nature is in a real sense our destiny. And then he brings to bear stories both from his own career and from the long history--military, diplomatic and economic--of humanity's navigation of these waters. Sea Power is marvelous naval history, giving us fresh and exciting reckonings with the great naval engagements that shaped the destiny of nations, from the Athenians and the Persians to Lord Nelson against the French at Trafalgar; through to the cat and mouse game between U.S. and Soviet subs in the Cold War, and the current bellicosities in the South China Sea, perhaps the site of the world's next great naval battle. Stavridis also steps back to assess some of the plagues to our oceans that are best seen holistically, from piracy to pollution to global warming.

When most people look at a map of the world, they see it as the outlines of its continents. When you read Sea Power, you'll never make that mistake again--you will instead be drawn first to the shapes of its great bodies of water, and their fateful consequences, for our history, for our present and for our future. It's a book only Admiral Jim Stavridis could have written, and it is a masterpiece.


From the Hardcover edition.

Adm. Jim Stavridis, USN (Ret.) is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who spent over 35 years on active service in the Navy. He commanded destroyers and a carrier strike group in combat and served for seven years as a four-star admiral, including nearly four years as the first Navy officer chosen as Supreme Allied Commander for Global Operations at NATO. After retiring from the Navy he was named the dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 2013. He has written articles on global security issues for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic.


From the Hardcover edition.