Richard Harding is Professor of Organisational History and Head of the Department of Leadership and Development, Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, UK. He has authored and edited numerous books on naval history, was editor of the Mariner’s Mirror (2000-2005) and Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research (2005-11). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Harding has produced a remarkably concise and useful volume that succeeds in sketching out the important debates within naval history, as well as making a good case for the topic’s enduring importance. Furthermore, the author has done an admirable job in establishing that naval history is very much a part of the community of academic historians, and is far more than the simple chronicle of admirals, captains, and battles at sea that some have claimed. This book will be required reading for graduate students and scholars engaged in serious scholarship on modern naval history for at least the next decade, and Harding should be commended for this major contribution to its study.

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Sea Power and International Relations: History in the Service of Policy2. Navies, Politics and Government: 1500-17893. Navies and Societies: The widening research agendaConclusion: The Future of Naval History?NotesSelect BibliographyIndex

Richard Harding is Professor of Organisational History and Head of the Department of Leadership and Development, Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, UK. He has authored and edited numerous books on naval history, was editor of the Mariner’s Mirror (2000-2005) and Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research (2005-11). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Harding has produced a remarkably concise and useful volume that succeeds in sketching out the important debates within naval history, as well as making a good case for the topic’s enduring importance. Furthermore, the author has done an admirable job in establishing that naval history is very much a part of the community of academic historians, and is far more than the simple chronicle of admirals, captains, and battles at sea that some have claimed. This book will be required reading for graduate students and scholars engaged in serious scholarship on modern naval history for at least the next decade, and Harding should be commended for this major contribution to its study.

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Sea Power and International Relations: History in the Service of Policy2. Navies, Politics and Government: 1500-17893. Navies and Societies: The widening research agendaConclusion: The Future of Naval History?NotesSelect BibliographyIndex

Richard Harding is Professor of Organisational History and Head of the Department of Leadership and Development, Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, UK. He has authored and edited numerous books on naval history, was editor of the Mariner’s Mirror (2000-2005) and Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research (2005-11). He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Harding has produced a remarkably concise and useful volume that succeeds in sketching out the important debates within naval history, as well as making a good case for the topic’s enduring importance. Furthermore, the author has done an admirable job in establishing that naval history is very much a part of the community of academic historians, and is far more than the simple chronicle of admirals, captains, and battles at sea that some have claimed. This book will be required reading for graduate students and scholars engaged in serious scholarship on modern naval history for at least the next decade, and Harding should be commended for this major contribution to its study.

• PrefaceIntroduction1. Sea Power and International Relations: History in the Service of Policy2. Navies, Politics and Government: 1500-17893. Navies and Societies: The widening research agendaConclusion: The Future of Naval History?NotesSelect BibliographyIndex