Europe ruled the waves for most of the modern era and even when its navies were eclipsed in size by the US force, they continued to dominate world wars. In this unique history of Europe's naval forces, Larry Sondhaus charts the development of naval warfare from the transition to steam to recent actions in the Persian Gulf. Combining detailed technical information with an in-depth comparison of warfare and tactics across some of the key conflicts of the modern world, this is an absorbing account of European and British seapower, past and present.

• Cover 2
• Half Title 3
• Dedication 4
• Title Page 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Table of Contents 7
• List of maps and plates 9
• Preface 13
• Acknowledgments 15
• Maps 17
• 1 From Sail to Steam, 1815–40 21
• 2 Midcentury Transitions, 1840–55 43
• 3 The Emergence of the Armored Warship, 1855–78 70
• 4 Torpedo Warfare, Cruisers, and the Jeune École, 1878–89 105
• 5 The Battleship Renaissance, 1889–1906 126