Amazon.com description: Product Description: All aspects of the English navy in the second half of the seventeenth century are comprehensively described in this book by one of Britain's leading authorities of a period that witnessed the creation of a permanent naval service. One of the book's most significant players is Samuel Pepys, whose tireless work over thirty years did so much to develop systems for construction and administration that prepared the navy for its global struggle with the French. This book will appeal to scholar and layman alike.