MAHAN, Alfred Thayer.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783. Second British edition, in an attractive prize binding. Mahan was described by John Keegan as "the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century" and his development of the concept of "sea power" has been identified as one of the major factors in the outbreak of the naval arms race at the end of the 19th century.This copy was bound for the British Empire League and in 1912 was presented to Denis Percival Beauchamp Taylor (1894-1916). The British Empire League, with its logo gilt-stamped on the front board and its calligraphic presentation slip mounted on the frontispiece, was a society founded in 1895 to secure a permanent unity among countries of the British Empire. The Duke of Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish, was one of its early presidents and gave his name to the league's essay prize.Taylor won the prize for an essay titled "The Advantages and Disadvantages of Unification as Distinguished from Federation" while he was a student at Charterhouse School. During the First World War he served with the 3rd The King's Own Hussars, attached to No 3 Squadron RFC. He was killed in action on 14 March 1916 when his aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Vimy.

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