This detailed study of the works of Stephen Bleecker Luce provides an excellent portrait of the man and a timely comment on the intellectual heritage of the U.S. Navy. Here is a look at the individual most important in bridging the gap between the age of sailing ships and that of steam driven, armored battleships. Luce had the greatest influence on his fellow officers. Luce and his associates were faced with a changing strategic environment in which the challenge was to build a Navy capable of exercising the international potential of the U.S. They faced the technological challenge of an industrial revolution and a world steeped in sociological and political change. Luce's experience will provide a useful perspective for the contemporary naval officer. Illus.

A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy is a deliberately compact introductory work aimed at junior seafarers, those who make decisions affecting the sea services, and those who educate seafarers and decision-makers. It introduces readers to the main theoretical ideas that shape how statesmen and commanders make and execute maritime strategy in times of peace and war. Following in the spirit of Bernard Brodie's Layman's Guide to Naval Strategy, a World War II-era book whose title makes its purpose plain, it will be a companion volume to such works as Geoffrey Till's Seapower and Wayne Hughes's Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat, the classic treatise that explains how to handle navies in fleet actions. It takes the mystery out of maritime strategy, which should not be an arcane art for practitioners or policy-makers, and will help the next generation think about strategy.

Gallons of ink have been used analyzing Adm. Alfred Thayer Mahan’s thoughts, his naval theories, and his contribution to sea power. One vital aspect of his life, however, has been ignored or misunderstood by many scholars: his religious faith. Mahan was a professing Christian who took his faith with the utmost seriousness, and as a result, his worldview was inherently Christian. He wrote and spoke extensively on religious issues, a point frequently ignored by many historians. This is a fundamental mistake, for a deeper and more accurate understanding of Mahan as a person and as a naval theorist can be gained by a meaningful examination of his religious beliefs. God and Sea Power is the first work to examine in a detailed and contextual way how Mahan’s faith influenced his views on war, politics, and foreign relations.