It argued in this book that, from the 1880s there was a widely shared, but largely unwritten, strategic acceptance in British naval thinking that in a war with a major power the response would be to attack enemy trade. In line with the current view that seapower depends upon free communications. 'Stephen Cobb has written a work that makes a fine contribution to the modern study of a subject that, despite its importance in World War I, is only now receiving the attention deserving of it.' Journal of Military History 'This book provides an important new perspective on British naval policy in the First World War era and is required reading for historians of the blockade. Supporters of a more ambitious definition of 'economic warfare' would also be well advised to consider Cobb's conclusions.' The Mariner's Mirror '... a valuable contribution to the naval histories of the period.' The Naval Review