Professors of War: The Naval War College and the Development of the Naval Profession

by Ronald H. Spector

CONTENTS Acknowledgments The Naval Calling in the 1880' New Threats and Old Problems The Old Man of the Sea The First Years The Uses of History A Sea of Troubles War Games and Wars of the Future From "War Problems" to War Plans Politics and Planning A New Generation Applying the "Science of Naval Warfare" The Long Twilight Notes Bibliography Index

196 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2005

About the author

Professor Spector received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins and his MA and Ph.D. from Yale.
He has served in various government positions and on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1967-1969 and 1983-1984, and was the first civilian to become Director of Naval History and the head of the Naval Historical Center. He has served on the faculties of LSU, Alabama and Princeton and has been a senior Fulbright lecturer in India and Israel. In 1995-1996 he was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Strategy at the National War College and was the Distinguished Guest Professor at Keio University, Tokyo in 2000.

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of how the Naval War College rose to be a great professional asset to the US Navy but eventually became a victim of its own success by concentrating on tactics and campaigns to the detriment of the study of war in general. What might have been a bit of a bore is salvaged by Spector's elegant prose.