The book, Armada, tells the compelling story of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, which was the greatest sea battle of the English "Tudor" age.  While the majority of "Armada" concerns the 1587-1587 campaign in which Spain attempted to invade England, its preparation, course and conclusion, context is added early on by a summary review of the two turbulent decades that preceded this epic naval confrontation.  While this struggle was ultimately about maintaining empire and trade monopolies, it also represented a clash of ideologies with both sides elevating it to the level of a "crusade".  While "Armada" does a thorough job of describing the main antagonists which included King Philip II of Spain along with his naval commanders, as well as, Queen Elizabeth of England with her English sea rovers, it also does a credible job of describing the ordinary soldiers and sailors.  "Armada" highlights the ships and seamanship of the two countries, the tactics and armaments employed, together with the logistics and high costs of mounting such an invasion.  "Armada" begins with Acknowledgements and then proceeds to the following chapters: 1) The Prudent King; 2) The Virgin Queen; 3) The Sea Rovers; 4) The Reluctant Commander; 5) The Lord High Admiral; 6) The Craft and Mystery of the Sea; 7) The Guns, the Gunner and the Crew; 8) The Fighting Up-Channel; 9) The Battle of Gravelines and 10) Wreck and Massacre.  This book wraps up with the following sections: 1) Postscript; 2) Notes and references; 3) Select bibliography and 4) Index.  In addition to an informative narrative, "Armada" includes the following features: 1) Approximately 50 black and white photographs including many of original illustrations; 2) About 21 color photographs of original paintings and artifacts; 3) 3 black and white illustrations; 4) 6 specially commissioned color paintings by Lionel Willis of the National Maritime Museum revealing the construction & equipment of typical ships from the opposing fleets and 5) Approximately 21 maps.   "Armada" was published on the 400th anniversary of the Spanish Armada's defeat at the hands of the proverbial underdog island empire of England.  It is sure to appeal to anyone interested in maritime history or likes a "David versus Goliath" storyline.  This book is 192 pages and is in excellent condition.  The author is Peter Padfield.  Edition published in 1988.