To Rule the Waves cover art

To Rule the Waves

How the British Navy Changed the Modern World

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

To Rule the Waves

By: Arthur Herman
Narrated by: John Curless
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £29.99

Buy Now for £29.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy - of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world.

This P.S. edition features extra insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

©2004 Arthur Herman (P)2016 Recorded Books Armed Forces Europe Great Britain Military Naval Forces England Royal Navy British History

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Jack Tar cover art
Trafalgar cover art
The Napoleonic Wars cover art
Gibraltar cover art
All the King's Men cover art
The Pirate Coast cover art
Rorke's Drift cover art
Lancaster and York cover art
The Anarchy cover art
Red Devils cover art
Firepower cover art
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich cover art
A War of Empires cover art
Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's Own Hero cover art
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World cover art
The British Empire cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
Liked everything and spoken with the elegant swish of a cutlass. Should be absorbed by all who profess to be knowledgeable about the shaping of the modern world.

Brilliant narrative of hugely important history not widely known

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fairly comprehensive history of navy. Story lacks continuity at times. But overall, worth a listen.

Good but not sensational

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is British history told through tales of the sea. As glib as that may be as a description, there’s a reasonable case to be made for it since Britain is an island and its history, as such, is bound to be linked to the sea. Indeed, much of what I grew up with (as common parlance) has a nautical reference. The audio book is well read and is not a tub-thumping, Union Jack flying rendition of all that’s good about Britain. It’s definitely warts-and-all, showing slavery, exploitation, skullduggery, as well as adventure, imagination, daring-do and political cock-ups and offers a less than admirable impression of some of the seafaring heroes such as Nelson and Drake…however, all told in a still respectful way which doesn’t upset the boys-own adventure side of history. I liked it a lot, learned a lot and will listen again.

A nautical tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it about the naval history of Britain.
Highly recommended!

Amazingly interesting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Highly recommended to those seeking adventure and fortune! Excellent, fascinating details, myths dispelled. There's a real understanding of the motives and personalities of pioneering historical monoliths.

Power, politics, adventure, suffering, European war-mungering, peace treaties, daring piratical forays into enemy strongholds, cunning strategies, evolution of tactics and technologies at sea, the creation and destruction of piracy, the early economics of war and piece, the precarious position of monarchs and the Ballance of power in Europe, the Mediterranean, the Americas and then the whole world.

Expansive penetrating view into Britain's past

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Everything about this was excellent. The writing, the pacing, the narration. An must have and listen for anyone with an interest in Naval history, not just an interest in the history of the Royal Navy.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A wonderful piece of historic narrative, beautifully read.
Comprehensive in its scope, never dull in content or presentation.

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This account of the Navy is engrossing and highly enjoyable.
I found it balanced, informative and thought provoking.
It is also expertly narrated.
I would highly recommend this book.

A brilliant narrative history, warts and all.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found this book marred by variable sound levels...word volume tailing off. I listen in the car and had to have the volume up much higher than other audiobooks so that I could hear all the words.

Variable sound levels

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought this was going to be a military history but it was so much more. It proved to be a wonderful coherent wide ranging narrative of our naval history and what drove it. In many ways it better explained the history of the British Isles since Tudor times than almost any other book.

Epic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews