New book from the author of the bestseller “Dueling Aircraft Carriers”! The best study by a leading naval historian, which, for all its professionalism, reads like an exciting adventure novel! Incredible adventures and transformations of a battleship over four centuries - from wooden sailing ships to heavily armored colossi that seem to be aliens from another world! Why has this class of ships repeatedly changed beyond recognition? Why did the battle fleets, on the creation of which astronomical sums were spent, not live up to the hopes placed on them in the 20th century, and why did the bet on a general artillery battle turn out to be a failure? Is it true that battleships have forever lost their primacy to aircraft carriers - or have missile weapons given them a new life? And should we expect another “reincarnation” of the battleship in the near future? This book will allow us to take a fresh look at the past, present and future of the most formidable warships in history - a clear embodiment of sea power.