N. A. M. Rodger has produced a work - combining scholarship with narrative - that demonstrates how the political and social history of Britain has been inextricably intertwined with the strength, or weakness, of her seapower. From the desperate early military campaigns against the Vikings to the defeat of the great Spanish Armada in the reign of Elizabeth I, this volume touches on some of the most colorful characters in British history, among them Sir Francis Drake. It also provides fascinating details on naval construction, logistics, health, diet, and weaponry.