Includes bibliographical references (p. 305-324) and index.
Contents:
American seapower in distress -- Alfred Thayer Mahan: seapower as an instrument of democratic expansion -- The roots of American seapower -- The future of American seapower -- America adrift -- China and the coming threats to dominance -- What is lost can never be regained -- Can America still manufacture its own weapons? -- To be a great power, or not -- Changing American maritime strategy.
Summary:
In this alarming defense of American seapower, Navy insider Seth Cropsey blows the whistle on America's weakening naval might in the twenty-first century. As with other powerful nations throughout history, maritime supremacy has been the key to America's rise to superpower status and the relative peace of the postwar era. Over the past two decades, however, while Washington has been preoccupied with land wars and targeted drone-centric operations, the United States Navy's combat fleet has dwindled to historic lows--the smallest since before World War I. At the same time, rival nations such as China have increased the size of their navies at an extraordinary rate. As Cropsey convincingly argues, the precipitous decline of the U.S. as a great sea power, due in large part to budget cuts, will have profound consequences sooner than we might think.--From publisher description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.