Includes bibliographical references (p. [589]-595) and index.

"'To Shining Sea' is a landmark of naval history, the most comprehensive and authoritative narrative account of American sea power written in recent times. From John Paul Jones's defiant cry 'I have not yet begun to fight,' to the war in the Persian Gulf, 'To Shining Sea' recounts the epic story of the men and ships of the United States Navy....We follow the first engagements of the tiny Continental Navy; we fight the Barbary pirates;...we witness the watershed clash of the 'Monitor' and the 'Merrimack;' we follow, from blueprint to battleship, the development of the U. S. Navy's first modern capital ships and submarines; and we come to appreciate the service's role in the ascendancy of the United States to a global power. Howarth brings us vividly up to date with the painful but ultimately fruitful post-Vietnam reassessment of the Navy's organization and capabilities, and the service's deployment at the onset of the Persian Gulf conflict...."