This book pretty much begins where Massie’s Dreadnought ends. A detailed history of the World War One naval war, mostly between Britain and Germany. It included the pursuit of von Spee, ending in his defeat near the Falklands and the battles of Heligoland Bight, Dogger Bank and Jutland. Britain’s fleet was larger so they could afford to be defensive. Germany could only win by defeating the British fleet, so they had to be more aggressive, but whenever they tried, they lost because the British ships were faster and had bigger guns. After Jutland, the Germans resorted to unlimited submarine warfare against any ships approaching Britain. The ships they sank almost starved Britain, but before that happened, the U.S. entered the war and the U.S. and Britain started sending their ships in convoys. In the end, the British blockade of Germany starved the German people and made them seek an end to the war.

It was amazing how cheap human life becomes during war. Ships with over 1,000 sailors would go down in a sudden explosion and that was that. It’s hard to imagine a more depressing way to die than to be trapped in a pitch dark ship that was sinking and filling with freezing North Sea water. Massie’s writing was excellent (of course), and the book was interesting throughout. I gave it a 9.