It’s ironic that a book about US naval activity in the Mediterranean at the end of the Napoleonic era helps you understand that US policies in its early years were most concerned about defining its own sphere of influence in the Americas.
Beyond that small matter the book is a great read and provides a superb counterpoint to the European aspects of the Napoleonic wars.
Given the US/British wars in North America at the time the story of the US naval fleet actions in the Mediterranean is studded with political and military risk.
The author takes us along at a good pace yet not without plenty of detail.
Given its trans national terrorism theme this is not a dusty old story to be consigned to a historical backwater.
The Wargaming Erratic 