The Price of Victory

Across two acclaimed volumes, preeminent naval historian N. A. M. Rodger has traced the progress of naval warfare in Britain from the seventh century through to Trafalgar, combining decades of scholarship with original insights and analysis. In this final volume, Rodger links naval history with economic, political, and social history to demonstrate how naval warfare and the Royal Navy shaped the British state and society in the nineteenth and twentieth century. His comprehensive narrative goes beyond the conduct of war at sea to tell a sprawling story of naval warfare as a national endeavor. Along the way, he describes the development and strategic significance of submarine and navy air forces and the rapid evolution of ships and weapons. He assesses the character and importance of leading admirals together with the roles of other less famous but no less consequential figures. The result is a masterful culmination of one of the most significant British historical works in recent decades.