Why practical experience belongs in naval history

Practical experience can deepen historical interpretation, and books should be judged by the quality of their history rather than by attempts to exclude their authors from an academic category. The criticism is aimed at gatekeeping that attacks who may write history without demonstrating that the resulting work is poor. The useful standard is whether the history is well argued, regardless of whether the author approached the subject from inside or outside a service. Ludovic Kennedy's books provide the immediate example of accessible history grounded in lived naval experience.