King's Navy
Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King and the Rise of American Sea Power, 1897-1947
Published on 28. January 2025
Book
Hardback
656 pages
978-0-7643-6837-0 (ISBN)
Description
An authoritative account of the rise and fall of American sea power between 1897 and 1947 and the definitive biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King.
Between 1897 and 1945 the US Navy rose to lofty heights, with huge manpower, a lavish roster of ships, and a hard-earned reputation for professionalism and potency. By 1947, in the wake of the Second World War, the Navy, although still powerful, had been significantly scaled down; much of the senior leadership retired and the wartime edge gradually dulled.
This period from 1897 to 1947 was witnessed and to a large degree driven and determined by two admirals, Ernest J. King and King's mentor William S. Sims. These admirals were empowered by two giants of American political and military history, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Through the lives of King, Sims, and the Roosevelts, Naval War College historian David Kohnen has crafted a sweeping history of American sea power from 1897 to 1947. This epic work was made possible through 20 years of research and writing.
By accessing undiscovered and recently declassified source material, along with the full cooperation of the King and Sims families, the author has been able to tell new stories and draw fresh conclusions, making this volume a must-have for scholars of naval history.
Between 1897 and 1945 the US Navy rose to lofty heights, with huge manpower, a lavish roster of ships, and a hard-earned reputation for professionalism and potency. By 1947, in the wake of the Second World War, the Navy, although still powerful, had been significantly scaled down; much of the senior leadership retired and the wartime edge gradually dulled.
This period from 1897 to 1947 was witnessed and to a large degree driven and determined by two admirals, Ernest J. King and King's mentor William S. Sims. These admirals were empowered by two giants of American political and military history, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Through the lives of King, Sims, and the Roosevelts, Naval War College historian David Kohnen has crafted a sweeping history of American sea power from 1897 to 1947. This epic work was made possible through 20 years of research and writing.
By accessing undiscovered and recently declassified source material, along with the full cooperation of the King and Sims families, the author has been able to tell new stories and draw fresh conclusions, making this volume a must-have for scholars of naval history.
Reviews / Votes
"I am not one to spend much time on the premise that history repeats itself. I do spend time seeking the insights history provides, especially from those who led in consequential times. Given the uncertainty of the era we live in now, and its corollary to the Pacific and Europe of 1930's and 1940's, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King holds a singular place in global maritime history worthy of greater study. David Kohnen has provided us that service. King stood among the brightest stars of American sea power after five decades on active service. King, recognizing as the world changed so must the application, though not the foundational theory, of naval strategy and operations. This is why David's book, King's Navy, is so important to us today. Kohnen draws from previously overlooked original archival sources to offer fresh historical foundations for our current consideration in framing American sea power in the context of the Navy we have in the now term, as well as the we need in the mid and long term." -- Admiral Scott Swift, USN (Ret.) Former Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, 7th Fleet, CSG-9 "Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King has finally found the biographer he deserves. David Kohnen's monumental "warts-and-all" study of the controversial wartime leader critically dissects King's complex personality and skillfully situates him right where he belongs - at the very center of the rise of American sea power during the Twentieth Century. This meticulously researched study is essential reading for anyone interested in the history - and the future - of the United States Navy." -- Christopher M. Bell, author "Churchill and Sea Power" "David Kohnen's book on Fleet Admiral Ernest King, the product of decades of research, illuminates not only King himself, but many of the principal characters of the U.S. Navy in both the interwar years and during the Second World War. Casting his net broadly, Kohnen profiles King's sometimes controversial role in the Navy and in the Anglo-American relationship as well as the key role King played in the development of Allied strategy during the war. A dozen appendices offer iconic and previously unpublished archival documents." -- Craig L. Symonds, author "Nimitz at War" "David Kohnen is to be commended for writing a much-needed new evaluation of the life and career of Admiral Ernest King. For this is a book that is more than a biography, it uses King's life to examine naval culture and world politics and seapower ideology. It avoids focussing on the racier aspects of King's life, to concentrate on his importance and his place-and thus we have a book that has interesting lessons for seapower today." -- Prof. Phillips Payson O'Brian, author of "The Second Most Powerful Man in the World: The Life of William D. Leahy, Roosevelt's Chief of Staff" "After the American warships visited Japan during the antebellum, the strong friendships and fundamental strategic connections between the two seapowers have endured into the twenty-first century. Among many others, we may recall the cordial relationships among such towering historical figures as admirals Funokashi and Sims, Nomura and Pratt, and Kantaro and King. This is why David Kohnen's book, King's Navy, stands out as an important contribution to the historiography of Trans-Pacific relations and the future of seapower in what he calls the "global maritime arena" of the twenty-first century." -- RADM (ret.) YAMAMOTO Katsuya, JMSDF Senior Research Fellow, The Sasakawa Peace FoundationMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
60 color and b/w photos
Dimensions
Height: 263 mm
Width: 186 mm
Thickness: 60 mm
Weight
2088 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7643-6837-0 (9780764368370)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2025
Schiffer Publishing
€32.09
Available for download
Person
David Kohnen completed doctoral studies with the Laughton Professor of Naval History at the University of London, King's College. With 30 years both on active and reserve service in the US Navy, Kohnen also completed multiple combat deployments at sea and ashore in the greater Middle East after 9/11. Kohnen lives with his wife, Dr. Sarah M. Goldberger, and their two daughters, Elisabeth and Katherine, in Rhode Island.