One of the most eminent historians of our age investigates the extraordinary success of five small maritime states
Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812-winner of the prestigious Anderson Medal-turns his attention to Athens, Carthage, Venice, the Dutch Republic, and Britain, examining how their identities as "seapowers" informed their actions and enabled them to achieve success disproportionate to their size.
Lambert demonstrates how creating maritime identities made these states more dynamic, open, and inclusive than their lumbering continental rivals. Only when they forgot this aspect of their identity did these nations begin to decline. Recognizing that the United States and China are modern naval powers-rather than seapowers-is essential to understanding current affairs, as well as the long-term trends in world history. This volume is a highly original "big think" analysis of five states whose success-and eventual failure-is a subject of enduring interest, by a scholar at the top of his game.
One of the most eminent historians of our age investigates the extraordinary success of five small maritime states
Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812-winner of the prestigious Anderson Medal-turns his attention to Athens, Carthage, Venice, the Dutch Republic, and Britain, examining how their identities as "seapowers" informed their actions and enabled them to achieve success disproportionate to their size.
Lambert demonstrates how creating maritime identities made these states more dynamic, open, and inclusive than their lumbering continental rivals. Only when they forgot this aspect of their identity did these nations begin to decline. Recognizing that the United States and China are modern naval powers-rather than seapowers-is essential to understanding current affairs, as well as the long-term trends in world history. This volume is a highly original "big think" analysis of five states whose success-and eventual failure-is a subject of enduring interest, by a scholar at the top of his game.
Andrew Lambert is Laughton Professor of Naval History at King’s College London, and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
“Seapower States presents, along with a fascinating geopolitical
chronicle, ‘the history of an idea, and its transmission across
time’ . . . [with] many provocative insights. . . . A superb survey
of the perennial opportunities and risks in what Herman Melville
called ‘the watery part of the world.’”—William Anthony Hay, Wall
Street Journal
“Seapower States is an intriguing series of stories of communities
thinking seriously about how to stand their own ground when
outpowered, how to do so in ways that are consistent with their
values, and sometimes how to negotiate the descent from being a
great power when the cards just aren’t in their favour any
more.These are timely questions.”—Sarah Kinkel, Times Higher
Education Supplement
“Compelling . . . both scholarly and readable.”—Gary Anderson,
Washington Times
“I admire the author’s ambition and verve, the fluency of his
writing, the audacity of some of his insights, the unquenchability
of his commitment and the brilliance with which he uses art as
evidence.”—Felipe Fernandez Armesto, Literary Review
“Lambert is, without a doubt, the most insightful naval historian
writing today. His range is immense and his sensitivity to his
subject profound. This is, however, a very serious book. . . . It
will become a standard text at universities for decades to come. .
. . I found this book admirable.“—Gerard DeGroot, Times
(UK)
“Andrew Lambert’s magisterial new book offers a provocative yet
persuasive account of how five historical seapowers—Athens,
Carthage, Venice, the Dutch republic and Britain—shaped our global
social, economic and political identity.”—Jerry Brotton, BBC
History Magazine
“Seapower States is a powerful, compelling work by an historian who
is absolutely at the top of his game.”—Nick Hewitt, Military
History Magazine
“Seapower States will prove to be an essential addition to the
shelves of anyone interested in the relationships between culture,
power, and strategy.”—Rob Cullum, Intelligence and National
Security magazine
Winner of the sixth annual Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military
History, sponsored by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American
History
“Seapower States offers a wide-ranging analysis of how and why
different seapowers have emerged and declined. In crisp and
assertive prose, Lambert points out parallels and congruences
between different states, arguing that they chose to construct
‘seapower’ identities. An impressive and important
contribution.”—James Davey, author of In Nelson’s Wake
“An excellent much needed long-view historical narrative of the
ideas of seapower and sea power. It shows how the classical
heritage of the histories of the Peloponnesian and Punic wars
have informed the rhetoric, grammar, metaphors and iconography of
international politics for 500 years. It is well-written and
well-structured, and leads to an important and provocative
discussion of seapower and sea power in contemporary international
relations.”—Richard Harding, author of Modern Naval History
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