Kevin D. McCranie, Naval Strategic Thought by Ian Yeates

currently a professor of Comparative Strategy at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, has written a fine account of the two predominant naval strategists that, in effect, created the field that before them was largely unwritten, if not unconsidered.The two individuals, one American and one British, are Alfred Mahan and Julian Corbett.Both articulated an approach to naval strategy that had much in common, yet involved important differences that reflected the motivations of the two thinkers in undertaking the work that they did, as well as the differences in the place of the navies in each country at the time.The importance of the pair is that no one has risen to take their place in the forefront of maritime strategic affairs, signifying the originality of their work and its seminal nature.McCrainie has provided real service in bringing the two thinkers together in a convenient package and has well assessed their work, noting their similarities and differences, as well as their ongoing importance.Mahan started with the publication of his well known work The Influence of Sea Power upon History 1660-1783, first published in 1890 and never out of print since.At the date of publication, Mahan's naval career was winding down and, it must be said, he was not overly successful in the business of going to sea and exercising command.He was, however, a fine lecturer at the newly opened US Naval War College, a post he earned as a result of this book.From there he set about writing prolifically on naval affairs, some historical, such as his first, and others more polemical in seeking to push US naval policy in a more aggressive direction.Indeed, at the time of writing the US Navy was relatively small and not much regarded