Armstrong, a naval aviator, research student at Kings College, London, UK, and military historian, collects and introduces five essays by naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914), explaining to students, officers, and policy makers how they can be applied to military strategy in the modern era. Historians often dismiss Mahan as outdated due to the focus on battleships, Armstrong contends, and only focus on his most famous work, The Influence of Seapower Upon History 1660-1815. Noting that the five essays collected in the book are more relevant and readable, Armstrong focuses on his ideas about globalization, rising powers, Asian development, and the impact of technology. The essays illustrate the connections between globalization and the fleet, lessons on naval administration, military leadership, teaching officers and sailors, and history and conventional wisdom. They were written between 1902 and 1905. No index is included. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)