Publisher's Synopsis
Not just the definitive new history of the British Navy - but a whole new interpretation of British history.
The interaction of England's national and political history with the development or atrophy of her sea-power is one of the most conspicuous features of her history. Yet this is the first book ever to treat her sea-power as the most permanent, inescapable condition of the country's political existence. It is not so much a history of the Navy but a naval history of Britain. The book will reveal - almost for the first time - the extent and power of Britain's navy since the seventh century.
Nicholas Rodger is the most able and interesting of young naval historians now working in this country. The Safeguard of the Sea takes the story from 660 to 1649. He will write two more volumes bringing his history up to the present.
The production of this book is lavish - with wonderful illustrations, line drawings and hand-drawn maps.
