"Reports from various think tanks, other organizations, and media have warned of a maritime crisis for years. Their voices echo that of the patron saint of modern navalists, Alfred Thayer Mahan. In this environment, a timely new book revisits a century-old topic, enlightens readers with previously undiscovered research, and corrects misinterpretations. In reading the entirety of Mahan’s published works and discovering previously buried correspondence, Lambert resurrects the first American navalist in a way that challenges those who venerate him. This extraordinarily well-researched book outlines the need for a properly sized navy to support national goals and economic stability."—The National Interest

“Often quoted but seldom read, Alfred Thayer Mahan is sometimes dismissed as little more than a pedantic and parochial advocate of big fleets and decisive naval battles. In this brilliant new intellectual biography, Nicholas Lambert demonstrates, to the contrary, that Mahan was actually a profound analyst of the strategic implications of globalization. Original, provocative, and compelling, Lambert’s book traces the evolution of Mahan’s thought and demonstrates its contemporary relevance.  Essential reading for scholars, strategists, and naval officers alike.”—Prof. Aaron L. Friedberg, Princeton University. Author of Getting China Wrong and A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia

"Although the title suggests a rather narrowly focused account, The Neptune Factor is a far-reaching reappraisal of Mahan and his interpreters from the 1890s to the present. Lambert’s insightful and readable book places Mahan’s work firmly within the context of his times. In the course of so doing the author explodes a number of widely accepted Mahan myths and shows the origins and processes of the American naval revival and subsequent rise to world power status to have been far more nuanced and complicated than suggested by earlier authors. Both historians and warfighters should benefit by reading this provocative book."—Prof. Ronald H. Spector (Emeritus), author of Professors of War and Eagle Against the Sun

"This book is essential reading for all serious students of naval history and contemporary geopolitics. Nick Lambert’s discovery of important new archival sources and a careful reconsideration of Mahan’s well-known published writing, has enabled him to produce a transformative study of Captain Alfred Mahan’s signature idea—namely the concept of Sea Power. He shows that Mahan, far from being a simplistic advocate of decisive battle, had a sophisticated understanding of the connections between naval force and international economics. Lambert’s revelations will go far to restore Mahan’s stature as the premier thinker on the role of navies in world affairs."—Prof. Jon T. Sumida (Emeritus), author of Inventing Grand Strategy and Teaching Command: The Classic Works of Alfred Thayer Mahan Reconsidered  

"Lambert's method, as in all his work, is not to proceed from received wisdom about his subject, but to go back to the original sources. The result is a book that explains – far better than any account of Mahan known to me – why he is still read in Beijing today, and why he would repay closer reading in Washington. Lambert’s Mahan is not the crude evangelist of decisive battle between battleships he is often caricatured as but a subtle and evolving thinker about the relationship between naval and economic power.  Rejecting the notion that Mahan should be read for his contributions to some abstract naval theory, Lambert insists on the need to put him in his historical context — which was dominated by massive economic change. Manifestly, Lambert’s Mahan-in-full is more relevant to contemporary US national-security policy than the legendary Mahan obsessed with “kinetic” combat operations. No less important is Lambert’s inspiration to young students of power today. His unequalled treatment of Mahan demonstrates many truths between the lines, and they resonate. As a historian, Lambert does not say what U.S. strategy should be. But The Neptune Factor offers ample food for thought for those who want American naval power to fulfill its true purpose – protecting and advancing the naturally unstable sovereignty of democracy, for both ourselves and those willing to partner in the effort."—Defense and Aerospace Report

"Your book is very important."—Cavas Ships Podcast