Sea Power

“No one understands the importance of the oceans and their impact on today’s security better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. He is a leader and a sailor who stands out in every way. This is a must-read book.” —Senator John McCain

“Marvelous and essential . . . [Stavridis] not only describes what his subtitle promises—the history and geopolitics of the world’s oceans—but also seeks to accomplish something far more elusive, sophisticated, and significant: To show how service at sea in one of the world’s great global navies simultaneously expands tactical, operational, strategic, and policy knowledge and skills in an officer and—most important—develops insights in him or her regarding myriad possible interconnections among those levels of conflict . . . This is a book for all sailors and policymakers, and especially for those who are both.” —Proceedings Magazine

“Stavridis (Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy/Tufts Univ.; The Accidental Admiral, 2014, etc.) knows his maritime history, but equally important is his firsthand knowledge of the seas as a naval officer who has steered ships and served as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO . . . He vividly relates what it felt like as a young naval officer taking a boat through the Panama Canal or the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea, and he adds personal authority to his more general points about the different bodies of water . . . A highly readable, instructive look at the role of the oceans in our civilization, past and present.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“Stavridis strikes a perfect balancing tone between the theoretical and the personal; he’s read widely in the annals of naval history, and he’s also seen years of that history in the making . . . Sea Power is clear-eyed about the dangers of the modern nautical realities, but it doggedly retains this tone of hope throughout. And hope or danger, on one point the book compels agreement: the oceans are still the crucial theaters of this water world.” —Christian Science Monitor

“Stavridis, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, summons the collected knowledge of his extensive career as an operational commander to provide insight into navies’ routine functioning . . . It’s a stimulating and provocative work . . . a timely reminder that oceans may seemed tamed—but that’s only true on the surface.” —Publishers Weekly

“Admiral Jim Stavridis served as a Combatant Commander for nearly seven years, as NATO Supreme Allied Commander for four years, and knows the world well. In Sea Power he turns his intellect to helping us understand the maritime world in clear, sharp strokes –vital analysis in this turbulent century.” —Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense, 2008-11

“Fellow Admiral Jim Stavridis spent nearly four decades as a US Navy Sailor, and is well known as an important geopolitical thinker. In Sea Power both of those attributes come together in creating a must read for anyone seriously thinking about the world’s challenges in the 21st century.” —Admiral Bill McRaven, USN (Ret.), Chancellor, The University of Texas System and former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command

“Admiral Jim Stavridis has sailed the world’s oceans, and has distilled the journey into a sharply observed geopolitical take on global affairs in the maritime sphere. This is a Sailor’s view of this turbulent nautical world, and it is a voyage worth taking.” —Admiral Mike Mullen, USN (Ret), 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and 28th Chief of Naval Operations