Mayday: The Decline of American Naval Supremacy

In Mayday, his vigorous new defense of American seapower, longtime Navy insider and Hudson Senior Fellow Seth Cropsey raises the alarm about the dire consequences of deteriorating American naval might.

Maritime supremacy has long been the key to America's status as a superpower--and, by extension, to the preservation of international stability since 1945. Over the past two decades, however, the U.S. Navy's combat fleet has dwindled to historic lows--with fewer active-duty ships than at any time since before the First World War. Meanwhile, rival nations have been expanding their own navies, to such an extent that China, for example, will likely be in a position, if current trends continue, to challenge American naval supremacy in the western Pacific and Asia--with potentially drastic consequences for U.S. vital interests.

Cropsey's Mayday reviews the modern evolution of U.S. maritime strength, explains its current standing, and provides an eye-opening analysis of American and global security prospects should Washington policymakers continue to neglect crucial questions concerning the necessary size, shape, and geostrategic understanding of our Navy.