The book receives praise for its breadth and readability, although its charitable treatment of Britain's treaty conduct draws a more sceptical response. Its Zara-class example begins with an Italian fleet facing the obsolescence of its existing battleships and seeking a cruiser able to fight ships of its own type as the fleet's backbone. The initial requirement combined eight 203 mm guns, 32 knots, a 200 mm belt, and strong deck protection. Those ambitions show the gap between a treaty category and the role a navy actually expected a ship to perform.
Chapter · 0:29-3:17
Warships After Washington and the Zara-class cruiser problem
John Jordan's Warships After Washington is recommended as a readable guide to five major fleets from 1922 to 1930, with the Zara class introducing Italy's search for a cruiser that could form the fleet's backbone.