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The Price of Admiralty: The Evolution of Naval Warfare | 
 enlarge | Author: John Keegan
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 276456
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0140096507
Dewey Decimal Number: 359.009
EAN: 9780140096507
ASIN: 0140096507
Publication Date: February 1, 1990
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Keegan illuminates the history of naval combat by expertly dissecting four landmark sea battles, each featuring a different type of warship: The Battle of Trafalgar, the Battle of Jutland in World War I, the Battle of Midway in World War II, and the long and arduous Battle of the Atlantic.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 A Slightly Different Keegan November 28, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The brilliant John Keegan has made a career of
describing the phenomenology of war. In The Face
of Battle he recreates the experience of men in
the battles of Agincourt, Waterloo and the Somme.
In the course of describing these battles, he makes
as urgent a case for peace as is possible. General
William Tecumseh Sherman may have said'war is hell',
John Keegan demonstrates it.
The Price of Admiralty is a bit more in the mold
of traditional military history. His theme is the
impact of technology on the nature of naval warfare,
but he is remarkably keen on the effects of rigidity
of thinking on the ability to adapt to new possibil-
ities.
Keegan reminds us that until the 20th century, warships
had a destructive potential beyond anything imagineable
on land. "...six times as many guns...could be transported
daily by Nelson's fleet as by Napoleon's army, at
one-fifth ...the cost and at five times the speed."
The line of reasoning from technological innovation to
application and consequence is usually pretty un-
impeachable. Keegan reasons that the predominance of
submarines is inevitable because of their technical
superiority over surface ships. Fair enough, but his
arguement is now partially out of date, foiled by the
nature of 'post-modern' warfare.
Non-state players and insurgents have no navies and
rarely have a stake in dominating sea lanes. Naval
forces are now likely to be troop transports and
platforms for air support. These vulnerable assets
will have to be protected from the possibility of
submarine attack at some cost, but the absence of
great power conflict suggests that temporarily at least,
the role of navies might diminish.
But don't throw out your Keegan just yet, this is a
wonderful read and nowhere is it inscribed that the
age of a single super-power will last forever.
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and the forthcoming novel bang-BANG from Kunati Books. ISBN 9781601640005
Keegan Classic March 29, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This was one of John Keeegan's early classics. Like Face of Battle, this book closely analyses three distinct naval battles from history. The first chapter on Trafalgar is very appropriate for the recent 200th anniversary. The description of the planning, events leading up to and the action itself are first-rate. I doubt one could find a better account of this battle even with all the recent interest in Nelson and Trafalgar.
Keegan excels in presenting clear and concise descriptions. For land-lubbers like me it was indeed pleasant not to be burdened with a lot of nautical terms which one expects with naval stuff.
Keegan also excels in analysis and comparative studies. In this work you get a pretty good picture of how naval technology has developed from 1805 to 1945. Some generalizations are no doubt present, and for those more knowledgeable than myself in naval warfare I leave to them the details of correcting those mistakes.
For the general reader of this subject this is a great work, and in keeping with Keegan's studies on warfare. This and his early work The Face of Battle completely revolutionized how warfare could be studied. Many since have used the systematic approach that Keegan first devised in these ground-breaking works.
Keegan does not provide the minute detail on these battles that some might desire, but there is good, solid research and thought provoking statements on how each enegagement was unique for its time and place. He provides a chronological study of the development of warfare and shows us that examples from past and present each have their place in the understanding of military science. Even after 20 years, Keegan's work remains as fresh today as it down when first introduced. This is a classic study which will always have a place on one's shelf. Highly recommneded for the general reader as well as military history buff.
 not Keegan's best, but still good January 9, 2006
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Here, John Keegan takes a comparative approach to naval history, using the battles of Trafalgar (1805), Jutland (1916), and Midway (1942), as well as the broader battle of the Atlantic during World War II, to highlight the major developments of the past two hundred years. The general theme is the effects of technology -- such as radio and aircraft -- on strategy, tactics, and ship design. As Keegan explores that theme across two centuries, he also devotes generous space to narrative accounts of combat at sea.
I am not a huge fan of Keegan's prose style. It is accessible but not always engaging and often gets mired in endless details. But his analysis is insightful and thought-provoking. I'd highly recommend the book as a starting point for anyone with a budding interest in naval history or for students of military history w hose primary interests may lie more landward.
Great book December 15, 2005
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
As always the human element shines through, just as it does in the "Face of Battle". While there are little hiccups that may have been made for example, John uses the word "their" in conjuction when describing the Doolittle raid as another reader noted, but one must remember that unlike in the USA the Doolittle raid is not covered to any great extent in the UK.
It would have been great to have been more detailed on the battle of Tsushima Bay, but not at the expense of Jutland because Jutland was not strictly an Ironclad affair, but rather the first battle between Dreadnought's, which had rendered the pre-dreadnought's such as those at Tsushima Bay obsolete. Indeed the heritage of Battleships from 1906 until the great Iowa's, Vanguards and Yamato classes can be traced back to the first Dreadnought.
Unfortunately, really no space to argue about his conclusions, which one can only hope will never be fully tested. Its a great book, one worthy of collection. Again, people have raised accuracy, but remember British schoolkids aren't raised on the same historical staple.
A very detailed book... September 15, 2005
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
John Keegan is one of the great historians of the 20th Century, if not of all time. In this book he explored the major turning points of naval warfare. The book is divided into four parts.
The first part deals with wooden ships, as he tells us of the Battle of Trafalgar, the classic and well known battle between English fleet and the French/Spanish fleet.
The second part is about the Battle of Jutland, which from the American point of view is NOT so well known, fought between the British Grand Fleer and the German High Seas Fleet during World War One. Both fleets were made up of steam powered ironclads. Frankly, I would think the Battle of Tsushima, during the Russo-Japanese War, to be more interesting and important, but we all have our own opinions.
The third part deals with the Battle of Midway and how aircraft carriers changed the way naval battles were being fought. The fact that Japan had more, at the start of the war, than all the rest of her enemies did give her a key advantage at the start.
The fourth, and last, part of the book deals with the Battle of the Atlantic and how submarine warfare marked a major changing point in naval operations.
In each part Keegan examines the tactics, commanders, equipment, and, as the titles suggests, the price of both victory and defeat. A must for any military or history library.
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