M. G. Saunders's 1958 The Soviet Navy can be read as evidence of contemporary naval thinking. Its wording and choice of subjects reveal assumptions at the time of publication, even when it describes an earlier period. How the book was written is therefore part of its historical value. Its date places it during Gorshkov's rise, prompting mention of his Sea Power of the State. A naval book's omissions can be as revealing as its explicit statements.
Notable Point · 2:12:03-2:13:29
Reading a Cold War naval book as historical evidence
A 1958 book on the Soviet Navy records contemporary expectations alongside its factual claims.