A vivid study in the politics and stress of high command, this book describes the decisive roles of young Winston Churchill as political head of the Admiralty and the aging Admiral Sir John "Jacky" Fisher as professional master and creator of HMS Dreadnought . Churchill and Fisher exhibited vision, genius, and energy, but the war unfolded in unexpected ways. This dual biography, based on a fresh and thorough appraisal of the Churchill and Fisher papers, reveals a strange and unique pairing of sea lords who found themselves seeking to maintain the primacy of the Royal Navy.