Transforming the Navy, U-Boat Pens, The Pacific War, South American Ships

摘要

This book is an academic study of the transformation of the U.S. Navy from 1873 to 1898 from a commerce-protecting force emerging from the age of sail to an overseas presence ready for action in the Spanish-American War. The author describes the cultural tension - fitting for the age - between officers who progressively pushed scientific and technological advances and nautical and gunnery proficiency and those who were strategic thinkers like Mahan who pushed the officer corps to increase their professional outlook of the Navy as a global warfighting force able to influence world events. The two cultures forged what the author calls a "warrior-engineer" identity for naval officers that continues to this day.