Sometimes when you read a lot of naval fiction focusing on the late 18th and early 19th centuries, you might begin to believe that England and France were always at war, and that Britain always had military superiority at sea.

But the reality is, when war broke out in 1793, England's navy wasn't entirely up to snuff. The plucky nation needed more ships and more men to sail them, and it took a lot of effort to build England's navy into the "wooden wall" that protected the island from invasion and blockaded French (and eventually Spanish) ships from leaving their harbors.

Mark Jessop, who served in the Royal Navy in more modern times, tackles the history and politics that made Great Britain a superpower that could withstand the military might of Revolutionary (and, later, Napoleonic) France.

The book is a surprisingly fast read. Coming in at just under 160 pages (plus a voluminous bibliography), the text lays out the details of Britain's military growth, including a look at the men who built the new navy. Jessop weaves a touch of fiction into the tale, creating generic characters whose lives were impacted by the navy; this touch, though only a small portion of the text, gives a bit of life to what could be a dull presentation of facts and figures.

As someone who has always enjoyed reading about that fascinating era, Jessop's work provides context for the many thrilling adventures set in that age. It wasn't all Aubreys and Hornblowers; the British navy was developed with a keen sense of purpose -- part of which was motivated, let's be honest, more by colonial greed than military superiority. And yet, without that rapid growth in power, Britain could well have fallen to the French ... and Napoleon could have seen his ambitions for conquest realized.