Review
“Maritime Strategy is excellently written. In an accessible and non-threatening way, it introduces the reader to critical topics addressed by major theorists.... Wardrooms and classrooms would do well to add Maritime Strategy to their list of books to discuss. Training commands should consider including this book in their curricula for new accessions, as it provides a big-picture view of the Navy’s place on the national scene.” —Naval War College Review
“A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy is a three-chapter compact compendium, but one that is wonderfully written and very instructive. James Holmes, the current J.C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategic Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College takes his reader on a carefully structured journey through maritime, naval and military history…. An excellent primer for laymen who want to be aware of the historical building blocks that are used in designing maritime strategy. There is much to be learned in this well-presented compendium by one of the most respected scholars in the field.” —The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord
“This is an excellent text and it is most highly recommended to any reader interested in naval history or theory. Whether a layman, historian, student, or young naval officer, the reader will find very important points in this book. It will greatly improve their understanding of naval theory and help put naval history in general within the greater context of national policy and international relations. This book is most highly recommended and it will produce a most enjoyable read.” —Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
“Many concepts and theories of maritime military/political strategy are as unique as the maritime operating environment. Some strategies that apply on land or in the air do not work at sea…. In A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy, Holmes introduces the main theoretical ideas of maritime strategy in a way that is both accessible and easy to read. More than just an introductory work, this book covers the key concepts of maritime strategy, from sea power to statecraft, and what navies do. Using Mahanian principles as his foundation, Holmes masterfully applies over a century’s worth of concepts and principles to the modern maritime operating environment. Though written as a primer for junior officers, policy makers, and scholars, this book will be valuable to anyone interested in learning “the art and science of using power to fulfill purposes relating to the sea.” —CHOICE
“Holmes’s insightful treatment of maritime strategy and policy offers a concise review for not only junior officers, but also senior navy leaders, civilian policy-makers, and other readers interested in topics about strategy and national security…. This highly readable volume will no doubt persuade many readers, most especially young naval professionals, to dig more deeply into studies of history and strategy.” —The Strategy Bridge
“Every officer should read this book because of the rich insights into contemporary strategic challenges.” —MarineBlad
“A Brief Guide to Maritime Strategy is well written, covers the ground and provokes plenty of thought…. An excellent pocket book.” —The Naval Review
“This brief guide to maritime strategy is much more than just a masterful introduction. It is a clear and lively compendium, teeming with references, and which approaches maritime strategy from the top, that is to say in its widest possible definition. Because sea power is much more than just a matter of boats and navies!” —Revue Défense Nationale
“The book is well written, covers the ground and provokes plenty of thought.” —The Naval Review
This is both an excellent primer for junior officers and students of strategy and an aide memoire for more senior and experienced people…. Illuminating.” —Baird Maritime
"Professor Jim Holmes is one of the leading naval strategists around today, and this lively, informative and well-written volume stands testament to this fact. It is the strategic bookend to Wayne Hughes’ classic Fleet Tactics, and a must read for any student of maritime power." —Robert Work, former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Undersecretary of the Navy
"In his concise, jargon-free book Professor Holmes has reduced the elements of maritime strategies to their essence. Holmes brings new life to the writings of Mahan, Corbett and other authors of naval classics by showing why our maritime nation must continue to exercise a maritime strategy in peace and war if we are to sustain our values in the future." —Capt. Wayne Hughes, Jr., USN (Ret.), Dean Emeritus, Naval Postgraduate School and author of the landmark Fleet Tactics series
"Deep into the first chapter of this brilliant strategic primer, Professor Holmes says, 'Alfred Thayer Mahan is smiling down from heaven.' So true—because this slender volume gathers the scoop about strategy into a highly readable format. This is a fabulous volume in the library of any naval officer or global sailor seeing to understand the role of the oceans in our turbulent world." —Adm. James Stavridis, USN, Supreme Allied Commander at NATO (2009-2013), Dean Emeritus, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Tufts University (Dean 2013-2018)
“This book is much more than the 'good first word about maritime strategy' that it says it is. Written in an accessible and readable way, it distills the thoughts of Mahan and Corbett and other key commentators to show how nations use power at sea to achieve their policy objectives.” —Geoffrey Till, Director of the Corbett Center for Maritime Policy and author of the Seapower series
About the Author
James R. Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and a former U.S. Navy engineering and gunnery officer. He formerly served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.
