Empire of the Deep: The Rise and Fall of the British Navy

Description

The bestselling complete history of the British Navy - our national story through a different prism. The story of our navy is nothing less than the story of Britain, our culture and our empire. Much more than a parade of admirals and their battles, this is the story of how an insignificant island nation conquered the world's oceans to become its greatest trading empire. Yet, as Ben Wilson shows, there was nothing inevitable about this rise to maritime domination, nor was it ever an easy path. EMPIRE OF THE DEEP: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH NAVY also reveals how our naval history has shaped us in more subtle and surprising ways - our language, culture, politics and national character all owe a great debt to this conquest of the seas. This is a gripping, fresh take on our national story.

Born in 1980, Ben Wilson's first book was published when he was just 24, and he is one of our most acclaimed young historians. He lives in Suffolk.

One of the rising stars of historical writing - IRISH TIMES Compelling ... Wilson's mastering of 1,500 years of naval history is no small achievement - SUNDAY TIMES One of our finest young historians ... With such a variety of peaks and troughs to choose from, this book can only generate discussion: it is, in its essence, a book about rise and fall that explodes the notion of rise and fall. It is a wonderful book because it does not tell the answer from on high but, instead, it asks the question: what do you think? - DAILY TELEGRAPH Wilson has a flair amounting almost to genius - OBSERVER