I have not read the book, nor intend to, but enjoyed reading Pryce-Jones taking the Sabre out in his review.
What’s also important in publishing this on Powerline is drawing historical perspective to the pacifists during World War II and today. Their childish belief that a flower in the barrel of a gun would have stopped Hitler as it will terrorism today is what gave strength to Hitler as it does now to our curent enemies. The most vivid example recently was the Iranian Navy taking British sailors prisoner. In retrospect, would have it been better to have dealt with the Iranians militarily at the time? In my opinion, yes, but to a pacifist that would be the moral equivalence of Churchills and Roosevelts war-mongering actions, and the belief that it led to World War II.
I was happy to hear one particular senior officer (name escapes me?) whose comment was (I paraphrase) “Don’t mess with the US Navy, we’ll respond severely.”
Let’s not make the same mistakes, or we’ll have another Hitler to deal with.