Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching Command

Sumida offers a close reading of Alfred Thayer Mahan, arguing that Mahan has been widely misunderstood. Rather than a simple advocate of battleships and decisive battle, Sumida's Mahan is a subtle thinker about the relationship between naval command, judgement and national policy.

It is a scholarly book aimed at readers already familiar with Mahan, and it rewards careful attention. For anyone who studies maritime strategy, it is a reminder to go back to the original texts rather than relying on their caricature.