The American officer was fitted by nature as well as by training for the work to which he happily turned his hand.  Possessed of a charming style; precise and clear instead of verbose; completely conscious of what he intends to convey and perfectly competent to convey it; and dowered with a perspicacious breadth of view which dwells on all that is important and passes over all that is irrelevant, Captain Mahan has given us two very remarkable books.—­The Fortnightly Review.

The distinguished author of some of the most important books on naval history and strategy which have ever been published, and which serve as text-books for nearly every naval lecture or article of the present day.—­London Globe.

Captain Mahan’s book should be read by all who are interested in the development of the navy, and who believe in the importance of the navy as the principal factor of defence.—­C.H.  Davis, Commander and Chief Intelligence Officer, U.S.N.

An altogether exceptional work; there is nothing like it in the whole range of naval literature....  The work is entirely original in conception, masterful in construction, and scholarly in execution.—­The Critic.

THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND EMPIRE.

Press Notices.

A book that must be read. First, it must be read by all schoolmasters, from the headmaster of Eton to the head of the humblest board-school in the country.  No man is fit to train English boys to fulfil their duties as Englishmen who has not marked, learned, and inwardly digested it. Secondly, it must be read by every Englishman and Englishwoman who wishes to be worthy of that name.  It is no hard or irksome task to which I call them The writing is throughout clear, vigorous, and incisive....  The book deserves and must attain a world-wide reputation.—­Colonel Maurice of the British Army in “The United Service Magazine."

Delightful reading....  The most exciting and among the best written naval battles ever described, for its clearness, is the battle of the Nile, fought in the darkness and upon strange waters.—­Chicago Inter-Ocean.

Remarkable volumes....  Captain Mahan has for the first time made clear to the unprofessional reader how much the plans of Napoleon were influenced by the successes of the British squadrons and the consequent failure of his “Continental System.”—­Macmillan’s Magazine.

Do not contain a page that cannot be read with pleasure as well as with profit by any man for whom foreign politics, the history of the rise and fall of nations, and the sources of national greatness possess the slightest attractions.—­The Fortnightly Review.

No other writer has told the influence of British naval power upon the career of Napoleon with the skill and lucidity characterizing Captain Mahan’s account.—­Springfield Republican (Editorial).