First published in 1940, this classic study of naval strategy and fleet tactics in the days of rowing ships continues to be acknowledged as the best book ever written on the subject. Years of rigorous research enabled Admiral William Rodgers to present here a sweeping historical account of naval warfare reaching from the navies of the early Roman Empire through the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585-1604, a campaign in which rowing craft were still used, although sailing ships determined the final outcome.