{"product_id":"castles-of-steel-britain-germany-and-the-winning-of-the-great-war-at-sea-9780345408785","title":"Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea","description":"In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe predominant image of this first world war is of mud and trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and slaughter. A generation of European manhood was massacred, and a wound was inflicted on European civilization that required the remainder of the twentieth century to heal. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut with all its sacrifice, trench warfare did not win the war for one side or lose it for the other. Over the course of four years, the lines on the Western Front moved scarcely at all; attempts to break through led only to the lengthening of the already unbearably long casualty lists. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor the true story of military upheaval, we must look to the sea. On the eve of the war in August 1914, Great Britain and Germany possessed the two greatest navies the world had ever seen. When war came, these two fleets of dreadnoughts--gigantic floating castles of steel able to hurl massive shells at an enemy miles away--were ready to test their terrible power against each other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheir struggles took place in the North Sea and the Pacific, at the Falkland Islands and the Dardanelles. They reached their climax when Germany, suffocated by an implacable naval blockade, decided to strike against the British ring of steel. The result was Jutland, a titanic clash of fifty-eight dreadnoughts, each the home of a thousand men. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the German High Seas Fleet retreated, the kaiser unleashed unrestricted U-boat warfare, which, in its indiscriminate violence, brought a reluctant America into the war. In this way, the German effort to \"seize the trident\" by defeating the British navy led to the fall of the German empire. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUltimately, the distinguishing feature of Castles of Steel is the author himself. The knowledge, understanding, and literary power Massie brings to this story are unparalleled. His portrayals of Winston Churchill, the British admirals Fisher, Jellicoe, and Beatty, and the Germans Scheer, Hipper, and Tirpitz are stunning in their veracity and artistry. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eCastles of Steel\u003c\/i\u003e is about war at sea, leadership and command, courage, genius, and folly. All these elements are given magnificent scope by Robert K. Massie's special and widely hailed literary mastery.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Robert K. Massie\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ballantine Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 896\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.10w x 1.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780345408785","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45089708572809,"sku":"9780345408785","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_ee758b47-f09f-47b3-862b-57dd301d73e8.jpg?v=1766477038","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/castles-of-steel-britain-germany-and-the-winning-of-the-great-war-at-sea-9780345408785","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}