Admiral Gorshkov

Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergei G. Gorshkov was the product of a tradition unlike those of his Western contemporaries. He had a unique background of revolution, civil war, world wars, and the forceful implementation of an all-controlling communist dictatorship. Out of this background of violence and overwhelming transformation came a man with a clear understanding of the value of navies, but with his own unique ideas about the kind of navy that the Soviet Union required, and the role that navy should play in Soviet military and national strategy.

Western naval observers have often attempted to define Admiral Gorshkov in Western naval terms. Many of these observers have been baffled when they find that the man and his actions simply did not fit conventional narratives. This book lays out the tradition, background, experiences, and thinking of the man as they relate to the development of the Soviet Navy that Gorshkov commanded for almost three decades and that was able to directly challenge the maritime dominance of the United States--a traditional sea power. His influence persists to this day, as the Russian Navy that is at sea in the twenty-first century is, to a significant degree, based on the fleet that Admiral Gorshkov built.
This is a book about a man and his ability to change a culture and to create a powerful navy that was radically different than traditional navies.
A timely biography, Admiral Gorshkov: The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy, is based on extensive English and Russian sources, providing a detailed narrative of Gorshikov's career and impact. A major achievement of the biography is how it adeptly analyzes the internal dynamic of Soviet maritime power modernization. --China International Strategy Review
The book is indispensable for anyone who deals with questions of maritime strategy of the 20th century, the development of the Soviet fleet, and the confrontation with the West. It is written by three recognized experts and contains content that was previously unavailable in the West. --Truppendienst
Admiral Gorshkov is a fascinating portrait of a man who was the U.S. navy's most dangerous 20th century adversary. --The Daily News
Admiral Gorshkov is a major contribution to modern naval and Cold War history. The three expert authors have combined deep research in Russian language sources and declassified U.S. intelligence analyses into a book that will stand as a major source on the Soviet Navy and its long-time commander for decades to come. --David Alan Rosenberg is a professional historian and defense analyst who co-authored the Naval Institute book The Admirals' Advantage, U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War

​Admiral Gorshkov, a volume in the Naval Institute Press 'Blue and Gold' series, is likely to be of great interest to readers who are modern naval wargamers, naval officers, defense professionals or analysts focused on Russia. --StrategyPage
​This is a must-have volume for anyone who studied the USSR, or for those who are interested in the resurgence of Mr. Putin's Russian Navy, and the story of the man who originally conceived and built it. Highly recommended. --Naval Intelligence Professionals
A brilliant, narrative based on careful analysis Russian-Soviet history from a maritime perspective from the time of the First World War until the end of the Soviet Union.... The book is a stimulating story, full Insights and absolutely worth reading. --MarineForum
An essential read for all those considering how the Global West might yet bring Russia in from the Cold. --The NAVY
Authors Norman Polmar, Thomas A. Brooks and George E. Fedoroff provide a valuable service by writing a book that chronicles the life and work of the prominent Soviet admiral.... Admiral Gorshkov is a well-researched and interesting book about a man and a navy that challenged the supremacy of the U.S. Navy during the Cold War. --The Washington Times
Finding a book that would do him justice is not easy, but Polmar, Brooks and Fedoroff pulled it off. --Virtual Mirage
For most of the last half of the Twentieth Century Admiral Sergey Georgiyevich Gorshkov personified the principal challenge to the hegemony of the United States Navy on the high seas. This informative and well-written book tells in great, but never boring, detail how Gorshkov almost single-handedly grew the Soviet Navy into the potent challenger it became. --Robert F. Dunn, VADM USN (Ret), Past President, Naval Historical Foundation and air wing commander and operations officer U.S. Sixth Fleet during several Soviet confrontations
The book includes a useful summary of Russian naval developments up to 2015. It has excellent maps, topical photographs clearly presented on glossy paper, a useful bibliography, and two minimalist indices. It has been produced to publisher's usual high standards of sturdy binding and handy size. The writing style is straightforward and the text is refreshingly free of acronyms and jargon. Based on post-Soviet Russian sources as well as the formidable background knowledge of the authors, Admiral Gorshkov can be recommended as a summary of S.G. Gorshkov's career and a wide-ranging, if unanalytical, overview of the Soviet and Russian navies from the late 1920s to roughly 2015. --The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord
The book provides an exceptionally clear window into the Soviet naval war during World War II through Gorshkov's operations in the Black Sea. --History: Reviews of New Books
This biography of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergei G. Gorshkov -- by three U.S. experts of the Soviet navy of the Cold War period -- portrays the most significant admiral in Soviet history -- who for almost three decades built a navy to break free from Russia's land-power mentality and challenge the U.S. Navy's dominance of the high seas.... The authors used their extensive personal contacts within the Soviet navy over the years to give the reader insight into Gorshkov's background and career. --Seapower
This book is a must-read for today's naval analysts. --Deutsches Maritimes Kompetenz Netz
This examination of the role played by Admiral Sergei Gorshkov in the development of the Soviet Navy (1956-83) is an essential work for anyone hoping to interpret Vladimir Putin's contemporary naval adventures into the North Atlantic, Syria, as well as the Sea of Azov. It is a must read for Russian experts, historians and strategists alike. --Thomas Fedyszyn, Professor Emeritus, U.S. Naval War College, Senior Consultant, Russian Maritime Studies Institute
This is a 304-page book with more than 150 unique photographs! This is definitely one of the best history books ... so far and the definitive source for the phenomenal transformation of the Soviet Navy to a global power! --Naval Analyses
This is an important book which deserves attention by higher military education institutions as an example of leadership against internal political opposition through championing technology while identifying a singular maritime threat to the nation. --Australian Naval Institute
This work by Polmar (a prolific naval author), Thomas (a retired USN Rear Admiral), and Fedoroff (an intelligence officer specialising in the Soviet / Russian Navy) is the first booklength treatment of its subject for a number of years, and it is a welcome addition to the literature. --The Naval Review
This Triumvirate of Soviet Navy experts join forces to describe a legendary adversary Admiral during the Cold War. For the first time, Polmar, Fedoroff and Brooks explain and explore Gorshkov's revolutionary high-seas operations and forward employment of nuclear submarines. Timely, powerful, and relevant! --Admiral James G. Foggo III, USN Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa

Today's burgeoning field of 'adversary analytics' seeks to divine what's driving Xi, Kim, Khamenei and -- of course -- Putin. Its practitioners will find this work of inestimable value. Three long-time leading analysts show how it's done in their magisterial unpacking of Soviet naval leader Sergei Gorshkov's thinking and career. --Captain (retired) Peter M. Swartz, senior CNA strategy analyst and former Cold War US Navy strategist