Firstly, the cover art depicts a scene outside the time period of this book, leading me to believe the editor was ignorant of the content. Secondly, this wasn't an easy read. The pages lack numbers and there are a significant number of typos. The writing style is of the time (1890) and contains many run-on or overly long sentences. Regarding the content, despite repetition of certain themes, it is very interesting to the student of naval and military history. It is easy to see why this book was so influential. You could even lay on this book the blame for World War 1 or the naval arms race which preceded it. Mahan is obviously trying to implore his own government (the American) to build a strong and capable navy so that any imperial ambitions upon which it embarks can be fulfilled and secured. By the end of the book, he has reluctantly conceded the 'empire of the seas' to England. Whether this is 'evil' as it was to the Bourbon dynasty he will not outright say, though his admiration of the means by which it was achieved is clear. The Spanish come under consistent attack, particularly when as allies of the French their behaviour was 'selfish to the point of disloyalty'. When reading that perhaps upon the incompetence of the incumbent government did the American colonies fall, any British reader will knowingly nod.
The most educationally useful sections for me personally where Mahan's digestion of the events of the Wars of the Spanish and Austrian Successions, the War of Jenkins' Ear and the Seven Years War. He lays clear the link between these in a useful narrative. They represent in fact a continuation of a single struggle between England's growing commercial capitalism, fuelled by a rapacious merchant class and obedient government, and the Bourbon dynasty which was always a step behind and anxious to maintain or increase its own hold on the wealth pouring in from the New World. In the context of the wider struggle of people against capitalism, this book could more accurately be titled 'The Influence of Sea Power Upon Capitalist Expansion' as the nation to which the sea is entrusted will always capitalise on it in the same way: by extending trade and the deprivations of capitalism forever. Whether this nation was the United Kingdom or France or in the future is China or the United States, the result may be the same: the capitalist classes of the controlling nation will grow rich. The lessons for maintaining this sea power remain the same: build strong ports on the lines of communication; maintain a strong navy, keep a sound military spirit within it, use it regularly and use it primarily to destroy the enemy's navy.
'History' to Mahan is the military conquest of the oceans of the planet and the effects of the trade which follows, which included the slave trade. The only mention of the slave trade is its necessary link in the chain which was pulling resources in from the New World, which meant that the English wanted a part of it. England's wars at the start of this book are effectively wars to gain a control of the slave trade, from which the first empires were built. Being concerned only with naval affairs as well as being of its time, this book shows a remarkable lack of awareness of the human element in the grand struggle - History - Mahan is writing about. In fact, the only discussion of the human condition is the fitness or poor state of crews and how this affects a ship's performance in war. All this being said, I still recommend you read this book as it helps to pad out any understanding of the development of capitalism, empire and the military ideologies which dominated thinking during the 'Age of Empire' and led to two world wars, and an extremely violent 20th century.
Rating: 3/5