"During World War I, British naval supremacy enabled it to impose economic blockades and interdiction of American neutral shipping. The United States responded by building 'a navy second to none, ' one so powerful that Great Britain could not again successfully challenge America's vital economic interests. This book reveals that when the United States offered to substitute naval equality for its emerging naval supremacy, the British, nonetheless, used the resulting two major international arms-control conferences of the 1920s to ensure its continued naval dominance"-- Provided by publisher.

Introduction -- 1. Clashing world interests -- 2. Washington Conference legacy -- 3. Beatty's Japanese war plan -- 4. Churchill's challenge -- 5. Beatty embraces arms control -- 6. The General Boards' new hope -- 7. American arms-control politics -- 8. Beatty takes control -- 9. Combat equivalency -- 10. Beatty's new strategies -- 11. Conference shocks -- 12. Hardening positions -- 13. The failure of the Anglo-Japanese Accord -- 14. Cabinet crisis -- 15. Final efforts -- 16. Breakdown and recriminations -- 17. Conclusion -- Bibliographical essay -- Index.