Book description
Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930) was the principal force
behind the rise of the German Imperial Navy prior to World War I,
challenging Great Britain's command of the seas. As State Secretary of
the Imperial Naval Office from 1897 to 1916, Tirpitz wielded great
power and influence over the national agenda during that crucial
period. By the time he had risen to high office, Tirpitz was well
equipped to use his position as a platform from which to dominate
German defense policy. Though he was cool to the potential of the
U-boat, he enthusiastically supported a torpedo boat branch of the
navy and began an ambitious building program for battleships and
battle cruisers. Based on exhaustive archival research, including new
material from family papers, Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy is
the first extended study in English of this germinal figure in the
growth of the modern navy.
"Kelly's fascinating political biography of Alfred von
Tirpitz joins the large historiography on German naval policy prior to
WWI.... Recommended." -Choice
Patrick J. Kelly is Professor of History at Adelphi University.
