The Wars of the Barbary Pirates: To the shores of Tripoli: the rise of the US Navy and Marines

Description

The wars against the Barbary pirates not only signaled the determination of the United States to throw off its tributary status, liberate its citizens from slavery in North Africa, and reassert its right to trade freely upon the seas: they enabled America to regain its sense of national dignity. The wars also served as a catalyst for the development of a navy with which America could project its newly acquired power thousands of miles away. By the time the fighting was over the young republic bore the unmistakable marks of a nation destined to play a major role in international affairs.

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A prolific author, his books include Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny and many others on military and naval subjects covering the 18th to the 21st centuries. Holding a particular interest in insurgency and counterinsurgency, his wider work for the UK Ministry of Defence on these subjects regularly takes him to Africa, the Middle East and South America. As an academic advisor, Dr Fremont-Barnes has accompanied many groups of British Army officers and senior NCOs in their visits to numerous battlefields of the Peninsular War, the Waterloo campaign, Normandy and the Falklands. Professor Robert O'Neill, AO D.Phil. (Oxon), Hon D. Litt. (ANU), FASSA, FR Hist S, is the Series Editor of the Essential Histories. He has held a number of eminent positions in history circles, including the Chichele Professorship of the History of War at All Souls College, University of Oxford, 1987-2001, and the Chairmanship of the Board of the Imperial War Museum and the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.

"The Wars of the Barbary Pirates is 90 pages of highly informative military history. Readers interesed in early American history or the beginning of the US Navy will find it informative. True to its series' namesake, it covers an essential part of history that isn't well know, yet it is a significant and formative part of America's rise onto the world state. Readers with an interest in this period won't want to miss it." --Mike Dorn, Wargamer "...this is a superlative book filled with artwork of the period for illustration and excellent maps to help us envision the operations against these pirates. It is a book that I found thoroughly engrossing and I'm sure you will as well." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com