Sign-In
Cart
The Neptune Factor: Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Concept of Sea Power
Paperback
Military BiographiesMilitary StrategyNaval History
Publisher Price: $29.95
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: Aug 5 2025
Pages: 440
Weight: 1.29
Height: 0.98 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Winner of the 2024 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature
The Neptune Factor is the biography of an idea--the concept of Sea Power, a term first coined by Capt. A.T. Mahan and the core thread of his life's work. His central argument was that the outcome of rivalries on the seas have decisively shaped the course of modern history. Although Mahan's scholarship has long been seen as foundational to all systematic study of naval power, Neptune Factor is the first attempt to explain how Mahan's definition of sea power shifted over time.
Far from presenting sea power in terms of combat, as often thought, Mahan conceptualized it in terms of economics. Proceeding from the conviction that international trade carried across the world's oceans was the single greatest driver of national wealth (and thus power) in history, Mahan explained sea power in terms of regulating access to 'the common' and influencing the flows of trans-oceanic trade. A nation possessing sea power could not only safeguard its own trade and that of its allies but might also endeavor to deny access to the common to its enemies and competitors.
A pioneering student of what is now referred to as the first era of globalization, lasting from the late nineteenth century until the First World War, Mahan also identified the growing dependence of national economies upon uninterrupted access to an interconnected global trading system. Put simply, access to 'the common' was essential to the economic and political stability of advanced societies. This growing dependence, Mahan thought, increased rather than decreased the potency of sea power.
Understanding the critical relationship between navies and international economics is not the only reason why Mahan's ideas remain--or rather have once again become--so important. He wrote in, and of, a multi-polar world, when the reigning hegemon faced new challenges, and confusion and uncertainty reigned as the result of rapid technological change and profound social upheaval. Mahan believed that the U.S. Navy owed the American people a compelling explanation of why it deserved their support--and their money. His extensive, deeply informed, and highly sophisticated body of work on sea power constituted his attempt to supply such an explanation. Mahan remains as relevant--and needed--today as he was more than a century ago.
Also from
Lambert, Nicholas A.
Also in
Military Biographies
One Man in: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Commando Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya
Craighead, Christian
Hardcover
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill
Clavin, Tom
Drury, Bob
Hardcover
Band on the Run: Xenophon and the First Great Mercenary Army's Epic Escape from Persia
O'Connell, Robert L.
Hardcover
Bird Men: The Rise of American Airpower and the Machine That Ended World War II
Baime, A. J.
Hardcover
Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace - A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII
Makos, Adam
Hardcover
Never Call Me a Hero: A Legendary American Dive-Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway
Kleiss, N. Jack Dusty
Orr, Timothy
Orr, Laura
Paperback
Ortiz's War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France
Sanders, Katie
Reynolds, Nicholas
Hardcover
George Washington's One-Man Army: The Life, Legend, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Palmer, John T.
Hardcover
Retribution: A Us Marine's Fight for Justice, from the Russian Gulag to Ukraine's Front Lines
Reed, Trevor
DeFelice, Jim
Hardcover
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sullivan, Spencer
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Paperback
The Road to Unafraid: How the Army's Top Ranger Faced Fear and Found Courage Through
Struecker, Jeff
Paperback
The Lazy SEAL: How a slacker made it through the toughest military training on earth and how you can too!
Khol, Nathan
Paperback
American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant
Tyson, Ann Scott
Paperback
Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown
Blehm, Eric
Paperback
Courage Under Fire: Testing Epictetus's Doctrines in a Laboratory of Human Behavior
Stockdale, James B.
Paperback
Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission
Ward, Jonathan H.
Collins, Eileen M., USAF (Retired)
Hardcover
Brotherhood of the Brave: From Boots to Brass, the Soldiers Who Have Shaped the US Army
Kingseed, Cole C.
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 1/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
As the Pentagon Burned: Leadership and Human Excellence in the Face of the 9/11 Attack
Klimow, Ambassador (Ret) Matthew S.
Paperback
The War They Won: The Story of World War II, as told by Those Who Were There
K. Kistler, Lt Hobart
Hardcover
Raising Athena: A Mother and Daughter Attend West Point Thirty Years Apart
Shattan, Mylinh Brewster
Hardcover
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire
Katz, Jonathan M.
Paperback
The Greatest Beer Run Ever: A Memoir of Friendship, Loyalty, and War
Donohue, John Chick
Molloy, J. T.
Paperback
Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War
Lambert, Ray
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
The Last Hill: The Epic Story of a Ranger Battalion and the Battle That Defined WWII
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Paperback
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Maurer, Kevin
Owen, Mark
Paperback
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II
Edsel, Robert M.
Hardcover
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation That Shocked the World
MacIntyre, Ben
Paperback
Pentagon 9-11: Scars You Can't See A Chief Master Sergeant's Reckoning with Truth, Trust, and Coming Home
Woody, Roger A.
Paperback
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Paperback
Not Our Problem: The True Story of an Afghan Refugee, an American Promise, and the World Between Them
Sodais, Abdulhaq
Sullivan, Spencer
Hardcover
Own Your Resilience: An Army Leader and War Widow Shares Tools to Live with Courage and Joy
Sileo, Tom
Ballou, Jennifer
Hardcover
Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant Volume 2/2: Large Print Edition (Large Print Edition)
Grant, Ulysses S.
Hardcover
Hunting the Jackal: A Special Forces and CIA Soldier's Fifty Years on the Frontlines of the War Against Terrorism
Keown, Tim
Waugh, Billy
Paperback
The Naval Academy - A Parent's Ponderings from Home Port: Untying the Bowline on I-Day
Wade, Steve
Paperback
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Redman, Jason
Bruning, John
Paperback
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army
Lockhart, Paul
Paperback
No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the Seal Teams to the Bin Laden Raid
Chesney, Will
Layden, Joe
Paperback
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Alone at Dawn: Medal of Honor Recipient John Chapman and the Untold Story of the World's Deadliest Special Operations Force
Schilling, Dan
Longfritz, Lori
Paperback
Proud to Serve: Leadership, Responsibility, and Command from 9/11 to Iraq
Walsh, Col Shawn P.
Hardcover
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
Perfect Spy: The Incredible Double Life of Pham Xuan An, Time Magazine Reporter and Vietnamese Communist Agent
Berman, Larry
Paperback
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) (Large Print Edition)
McRaven, William H.
Hardcover
To End All Wars: A True Story about the Will to Survive and the Courage to Forgive
Gordon, Ernest
Paperback
Parachute Infantry: An American Paratrooper's Memoir of D-Day and the Fall of the Third Reich
Webster, David
Paperback
Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall
Willner, Nina
Paperback
In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown
Philbrick, Nathaniel
Paperback
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10
Luttrell, Marcus
Paperback
The Invisible Veteran: Rediscovering Purpose, Identity, and Connection After Service
Kidder, Kevin
Paperback
Wielding the Trident: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance and America's Victory in the Pacific
Blackley, Andrew K.
Hardcover
Writer, Sailor, Soldier, Spy: Ernest Hemingway's Secret Adventures, 1935-1961
Reynolds, Nicholas
Paperback
Then All Hell Broke Loose: The Odyssey of a Marine Corps Photographer in Vietnam
Fisher, Dennis
Paperback
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Large Print Edition)
Hillenbrand, Laura
Paperback
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein: My Six Months Inside the Mind of a Tyrant
Piro, George
Hardcover
World War II Generation Speaks: The Things Our Fathers Saw Series, Vols. 1-3
Rozell, Matthew
Hardcover
The Fate of the Generals: Macarthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines
Horn, Jonathan
Paperback
The Phantom: The Untold Story of the American Marine the Nazis Could Not Kill (Large Print Edition)
Drury, Bob
Clavin, Tom
Hardcover
A Soldier's Life: A Black Woman's Rise from Army Brat to Six Triple Eight Champion
Cummings, Edna W.
Hardcover
No Excuses: The Power of Hard Work and Discipline - A Journey to the U.S. Navy's Highest Enlisted Rank
Stevens, Mike
Hardcover