The gripping account of the U.S. Navy's fast carrier force--and how its Central Pacific campaign in 1944 marked the achievement of American naval supremacy Task Force 58 was World War II's most powerful battle fleet. Made up in mid-1944 of sixteen aircraft carriers, over a thousand combat aircraft, and an armada of escorts, it was vital to victory over Japan. In this compelling account, Evan Mawdsley charts the 3,500-mile dash of the "Big Blue Fleet" across the Central Pacific in the first six months of 1944, overwhelming enemy opposition and transforming the nature of naval warfare. The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 crushed the enemy's naval air force and secured war-winning air bases in the Mariana Islands. Mawdsley examines the elements of the rapidly assembled force--ships, planes, and 100,000 officers and men--as well as the advanced bases and fleet train that provided such astounding mobility. Task Force 58's campaign marked the achievement of naval supremacy by the United States, a status it maintains to this day.

In the great wars of modern history, maritime powers have always prevailed over land-based empires. This extraordinary book charts the growth of these powers in various western countries while revealing the way in which supremacy at sea freed thought and society itself. As noted historian Peter Padfield demonstrates, those nations attaining mastery at sea have been distinguished by liberty, flexibility, and enterprise, a historical lesson of burning relevance today. Maritime Supremacydetails the struggles of the first supreme maritime powers of the modern age, the Dutch and the British, and ends with the emergence of the ultimate successor, the United States world power was won. Immersing the reader in the drama of events, including riveting great sea battles, Padfield challenges our view of the evolution of today's world. "Outstanding . . . offers up naval campaigns and sea battles as vivid as any you will find in Patrick O'Brian." (John Lehman, former secretary of the US Navy, The Wall Street Journal) "[Padfield's] comprehension of the context and his natural, understandable absorption in the details are expressed in fine writing." (Stephen Howarth, Naval History)

A sweeping, lavishly illustrated one-volume history of the rise of American naval power during World War II "When he is at his best, as he often is in these pages, Kennedy can be dazzling."--Ian W. Toll, New York Times "The book makes for enjoyable reading, owing to the author's easygoing style . . . Kennedy is an academic who does not write like one; he writes a story, not a treatise."--Robert D. Kaplan, Washington Post "Engrossing."--Brendan Simms, Wall Street Journal In this engaging narrative, brought to life by marine artist Ian Marshall's beautiful full-color paintings, historian Paul Kennedy grapples with the rise and fall of the Great Powers during World War II. Tracking the movements of the six major navies of the Second World War--the allied navies of Britain, France, and the United States and the Axis navies of Germany, Italy, and Japan--Kennedy tells a story of naval battles, maritime campaigns, convoys, amphibious landings, and strikes from the sea. From the elimination of the Italian, German, and Japanese fleets and almost all of the French fleet, to the end of the era of the big-gunned surface vessel, the advent of the atomic bomb, and the rise of an American economic and military power larger than anything the world had ever seen, Kennedy shows how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered between 1936 and 1946.

The Book Begins With A General Picture Of How Man Set Out To Sea And Then It Deals With The Evolution Of Raft And Boat-Building. It Describes Indias Maritime Heritage From The Earliest Days Upto The 16Th Century. The Book Then Points Out How The Monopoly Of The Arab Middlemen In The Sea Trade Was Broken By The Entry Of The European Powers, Followed By Local Wars At Sea. While Tracing The Sea Battles Of The European Powers In The East, The Reasons For Rise And Fall Of The Portuguese, The Dutch And The French Have Been Discussed. How The British Achieved Supremacy In The Indian Ocean Has Been Highlighted. The Progress Of Indias Shipping And Shipbuilding, The Comparative Position Of Maritime States, The Impediments In Competing With Developed Nations, And Measures To Overcome These Handicaps Have Been Discussed. The Abundant Resources Of The Oceans Around Us, The Indian Achievement So Far In The Utilisation Of The Bonanza And The Shortcomings In This Endeavour Have Been Analysed. The Extent Of The Exclusive Economic Zone (Fez) And Indias Rights And Responsibilities As Per International Law Of The Sea, Have Been Brought Out.The Role Of The Indian Navy Since Independence, Its Progress From A Coastal Force To A High Seas Fleet In The Missile Age, Its Achievements And Drawbacks Have Been Examined. The Indian Navys Role In Liberation Of The Portuguese Possessions, The 1965 Pakistan Conflict And The 1971 Pakistan War And The Lessons Learnt In These Operations Have Been Analysed.The Birth, Progress And Role Of The Coast Guard Service Have Been Succinctly Brought Out. The Book Concludes By Highlighting The Importance Of The Sea Around Us, And How The Indian Ocean Rim Countries Can Co-Operate In Making The Indian Ocean A Zone Of Peace For The Benefit Of Mankind At Large.

The gripping account of the U.S. Navy’s fast carrier force—and how its Central Pacific campaign in 1944 marked the achievement of American naval supremacy Task Force 58 was World War II’s most powerful battle fleet. Made up in mid-1944 of sixteen aircraft carriers, over a thousand combat aircraft, and an armada of escorts, it was vital to victory over Japan. In this compelling account, Evan Mawdsley charts the 3,500-mile dash of the “Big Blue Fleet” across the Central Pacific in the first six months of 1944, overwhelming enemy opposition and transforming the nature of naval warfare. The Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 crushed the enemy’s naval air force and secured war-winning air bases in the Mariana Islands. Mawdsley examines the elements of the rapidly assembled force—ships, planes, and 100,000 officers and men—as well as the advanced bases and fleet train that provided such astounding mobility. Task Force 58’s campaign marked the achievement of naval supremacy by the United States, a status it maintains to this day.

A boy's devotion to soup leads to a position in Le Ritz restaurant in Paris.