This revisionist study shows how the Royal Navy's ideas about the meaning and application of seapower shaped its policies during the years between the wars. It examines the navy's ongoing struggle with the Treasury for funds, the real meaning of the 'one power standard', naval strategies for war with the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy, the influence of Mahan, the role of the navy in peacetime, and the use of propaganda to influence the British public.
'When history popularizes military strategy, it is a safe bet that strategies implemented in wartime will monopolize the reader's attention. For the true student of strategy - be it air, naval, or land - there will always be a need to review what political, economic, and diplomatic considerations were active in the minds of decision-makers in times of relative peace. Christopher Bell...carries this off in bold fashion...' - David Rudd, Toronto, Ontario, The Northern Mariner