Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Book: Castles of Steel -- March 6, 2013


Some years ago, I read Robert K Massie's Dreadnought, a history of politics and navies in Britain and the newly formed German Empire.  I learned many things I had not known about German history in the late 19th Century.  Castles of Steel is Massie's sequel, describing how the two navies faced each other during the First World War.  He takes the side of Admiral John Jellicoe in the Jellicoe/Beatty controversies about the Battle of Jutland.  Massie manages to tell exciting stories about battles while also explaining the political and economic background of events.  He gives the Royal Navy and its blockade of Germany credit for winning the war. 

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