A prior reviewer says that he is "disappointed" with this book and that the author "can't even write a simple declarative sentence." What I wonder is, from what correspondence course did the reviewer get his degree? More disturbing is how he found 24 people to agree with him. Those ratings must have come from a reluctant class assigned to read this book by some misguided middle school teacher. The book is erudite, exhaustively researched, and enlightening in its conclusions about how Britain became the greatest power in the world. It is a wonderfully well-written book that I would highly recommend to any literate person.