MAHAN ON NAVAL WARFARE _The Writings of_ REAR ADMIRAL ALFRED T. MAHAN The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783. The Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793–1812. 2 vols. Sea Power in Its Relations to the War of 1812. 2 vols. The Interest of America in Sea Power, Present and Future. The Life of Nelson, the Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain. 2 vols. Types of Naval Officers. Retrospect and Prospect. Lessons of the War with Spain, and other Articles. The Problem of Asia, and Its Effect upon International Policies. Some Neglected Aspects of War. Naval Administration and Warfare. The Interest of America in International Conditions. Naval Strategy. The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. The Harvest Within. [Illustration: REAR ADMIRAL ALFRED T. MAHAN, U.S.N. ] MAHAN ON NAVAL WARFARE SELECTIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OF REAR ADMIRAL ALFRED T. MAHAN EDITED BY ALLAN WESTCOTT, PH.D. INSTRUCTOR, UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY WITH MAPS AND DIAGRAMS [Illustration: [Logo]] BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1918 _Copyright, 1890, 1892, 1897, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1911_, BY A. T. MAHAN. _Copyright, 1918_, BY ELLEN LYLE MAHAN. _All rights reserved_ ALFRED THAYER MAHAN In his volume of reminiscences, “From Sail to Steam,” Rear Admiral Mahan gives us his father’s opinion and his own later judgment regarding his choice of the navy as a life work. “My father told me he thought me less fit for a military than for a civil profession, having watched me carefully. I think myself now that he was right; for though I have no cause to complain of unsuccess, I believe I should have done better elsewhere.”[1] The father, Dennis Hart Mahan, was a graduate of West Point, in later life a distinguished professor of engineering at the Military Academy, and thus well qualified to weigh his son’s character and the requirements of a military career. The verdict of both father and son, moreover, may appear borne out by the fact that, while the name of Mahan is more widely known to-day than that of any other American naval officer, his fame rests, not on his achievements as a ship or fleet commander, but as a great naval historian and student of naval warfare.