Originally published in 1912, when the naval arms race with Germany was nearing its climax, this title is read as much for its views on the future of naval warfare as its detailed statistics. It fully covers British naval history, from Alfred the Great to the Dreadnought era. Fred T. Jane (1865-1916) is often regarded the father of modern naval journalism. He produced his first reference book inn 1882 at the time of the Royal Navy's bombardment of Alexandria, a collection of his own pen-and-ink sketches informed the public about the ships taking part. Then followed his All the World's Fighting Ships in 1897, published since then as an annual reference book covering the world's navies. The book covers the whole sweep of British naval history, from Alfred the Great to the era of the Dreadnought battleship. Other books written by Janes include The Imperial Russian Navy (1899) and The Imperial Japanese Navy (1904).