The Influence of Seapower Upon History

By: Alfred T. Mahan

Narrated by: Jonathan Reese

Length: 20 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1886, the U.S. had no navy to speak of. But it did have Alfred T. Mahan, a captain of the U.S. Navy who had spent much of his career observing the exemplary fleets of the British Empire. At age 46, Mahan was just 10 years short of retirement age when the newly formed Naval and War College at Newport, Rhode Island, asked him to lecture on naval history and tactics. Out of these lectures grew a book that would change the world. It's no exaggeration that The Influence of Seapower Upon History affected the outcome of both great world wars. When it was first published in 1890, prime ministers, kings, admirals, and chancellors eagerly studied its strategies, which England first employed to rule the seas. Likewise, all the major powers have used it to shape imperial policies.

(P) Books on Tape, Inc.

How Navies define Nations

It was a book needed by not only Americans also the world to examine and peel back naval doctrine Mahan was brilliant and his understanding of Naval power will dominate geopolitics for another one hundred years. A must read for anyone interested in naval history.

Great book, poor quality recording

I needed an audio copy of this book so I could read it for class during a long drive. I was psyched to find it on Audible unabridged. Unfortunately, the recording sounded like it was a hissing copy of an old cassette tape. And the reader was slow and had no dynamism in his voice. A must read for history majors, but a better copy should be found.

Great book

Would you consider the audio edition of The Influence of Seapower Upon History to be better than the print version?

The audio edition is easier to start with. The original book is good if you like to study the details on seabattles in the 1700's.

Any additional comments?

This book covers most of the reasons why the worldmap looks like it does today. This book is essential reading for presidents and prime ministers.

Quaint historical interest

This book is good. The narration is quality, though there is some background noise throughout the recording. The general text of the book is mostly of quaint historical interest; at the time of writing, the major policy debate was how primarily coal-driven ironclads will influence naval combat in the future. It is kind of disconcerting that this is marketed under "Audible Kids" - to find a child's voice introducing one to a long, professional exposition of the war of Spanish succession is odd.

Audio quality is fine.

Previous reviews noted poor audio quality. I found no issues. The narrator was good too.

Not too bad, informative but poorly read.

I’m unimpressed with the narrator not taking the time to learn the proper pronunciation of some key places mentioned but overall it wasn’t terrible. Audio quality was poor, but sufficient for scholarly purposes.

good book, terrible narrator

While a great book, I could not stand the narrator. His sing-songy approach to the reading was very very distracting, so regrettably, I had to stop listening. Hope I?ll find the same title sans this narrator!

Great book spoiled by reader

For nearly a century this book has been a "must read" for anyone interested in naval history. Unfortunately the narrator's technique of ending almost every sentence on a rising note, as if a question was being asked made listening impossible. It broke my heart but I had to put the tape away after an hour of teeth-gritting struggle.

Terrible Audio

Who ever digitized this reading was incompetent. Constant hiss in background, volume changes in the middle of chapters and at the end of every chapter. Not worth buying if you can find a different version.

Turgid prose

And editorial cloaked as history and written in a painful manner. Only covers history until the end of the American Revolution