Part 1 Preparing for the First World War: Italian warship construction and maritime strategy, 1873-1915, Brian R. Sullivan; Japanese naval construction, 1878-1918, David C. Evans; the French Navy, 1880-1914, Paul Halpern; technology, shipbuilding and future combat in Germany, 1880-1914, Michael Epkenhans; Admiral Sir John Fisher and the concept of flotilla defence, 1904-9, Nicholas A. Lambert. Part 2 Preparing for the Second World War: Japanese naval construction, 1919-41, Mark R. Peattie; German naval strategy and armament, 1919-39, Werner Rahn; British naval procurement and technological change, 1919-39, Jon T. Sumida; politics, arms control and US naval development in the interwar period, Phillips Payson O'Brien. Part 3 Preparing for the Cold War: the Russian Navy in the Gorshkov era, Evan Mawdsley; the Royal Navy, 1945-90, Eric Grove; purposes and platforms in the US Navy, 1945-90, George W.

Baer. Part 4 Preparing for the next war: the Royal Navy in a new world, 1990-2020, Geoffrey Till; the transformation of the US Navy, Norman Friedman; technology, shipbuilding and future combat beyond 2020, David Andrews.