Superior naval history
I bought this book and it sat on my shelf unread for years. It's a big book, over 750 dense pages. Even after I read (and loved) the prequel, Dreadnought, it still took me a long time to muster up the energy to tackle this. Probably I'm lazier than average. But once I did pick it up, I was awfully glad I did. Castles of Steel is a completely satisfying book -- first-rate writing, an engaging story, compelling battle scenes, balanced and fair coverage and judgments, helpful photos and maps. A year or two after reading it, the men and the ships at the center of the story are still vividly in my mind. Like many reading this, I've read dozens of books on naval history, and this easily ranks up with the best of them. Highly recommended.
A Unique World War I Introductory
Trenches are undoubtedly the image that comes to mind when one thinks of World War I. But after reading Castles of Steel, one will also have to imagine massive 15-inch guns firing at ships 10 miles away and moving at 25 knots. I was happy to discover that the naval history of the Great War is quite interesting. This book brought it all to life.
In COS, Massie provides the most readable historical account I've encountered. I believe other reviewers have pointed out, and I agree with them, that this readability does not come at the expense of historical rigor, either. I now have a far better understanding of how the Royal Navy defined the British Empire and how the Kaiser's High Sea's fleet threatened that order.
I hoped, too, that this book would give a decent overview of World War I generally; as it was the first really in-depth book I've read on the Great War. It turned out to be a good but not great introduction, at least insofar as introductions typically offer breadth instead of depth. I hardly consider this a fault; the book was not intended to be broad. Nevertheless, I'll point out to someone with similar hopes that there is almost no discussion of armies in France or Germany other than political references to the stalemate. There is decent discussion of who was allied with whom and why, as well as who was trying to remain neutral. There was a surprising amount of ground-battle discussion as it related to Gallipoli, since that Mediterranean campaign was so intertwined with naval action. And finally, it was quite strong in its discussion of how America was drawn into the war. In that particular regard, I doubt a better introduction could be found (at least if Massie's thesis, that it was mainly a maritime matter, holds up.)
But simply as naval story, the book was superb. The institutions that once were Royal Navy and Imperial Navy hold my elevated respect. It is easy, through Massie, to conjure up images of men being men, shoveling coal like beasts in an inferno, pushing ships 2, 3, 4 knots past their rated maximum. It is easy to picture those same men full of honor, giving three cheers for their admiral and for the King as they steam into epic battles against hundreds of ships.
And yet, COS is far from a fairy tail. The old ways of war begin to crumble; monarchies defer to cabinets, sailors that had been gentlemen begin murdering, respect for one's enemy quickly gives way to hatred. Before the war, the Royal Navy and Imperial Navy held friendly competitions, by the end of the war, starvation blockade and unrestricted submarine warfare had taken hold.
So, through the lens of naval history, we see the full transformation from gentlemen's war to the horrors of modern, democratic warfare. And at the center of this transformation is Winston Churchill, whose bungled years at the Admiralty are marked by overzealousness, close-mindedness, and overall incompetence.
Ultimately, COS, though not intended to be an introduction to WW I, and certainly lacking introductory breadth, is nevertheless a unique place to start one's learning about the Great War. For whatever it lacks in breadth, it is certainly a deep recounting of the naval history, and I suspect in that depth one will find all the important human themes of the Great War which make it such a pivotal moment in time.
Loved it!
I don't think I have much to add to what's been said before, other than to simply iterate alongside many other people my enjoyment of this book.
I felt that this book, alongside Dreadnought (same author), gave a wonderful historical view of events that surrounded and led up to WW! (though pre-WW1 discussion is predominately found in Dreadnought, not this book).
I relished the discussion of the different personalities involved. And found the apparent lack of naval battles following the arms race quite ironic!
Great reading, and highly recommended!
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