I really enjoyed this book about the famous admiral Lord Nelson. It covered both his public and personal life, acknowledged his weaknesses and his triumphs. The authors seemed faithfully honest about Nelson, but did add enough commentary on his day and times and the sea life that he lived to help us understand and not misjudge by today's standards. Well worth reading for history buffs and arm-chair admirals.
Howarth is really good, so too is this book; I don’t have anything clever to say, except you should read it, especially if you don’t already know a lot about Nelson, and maybe first read a bit about 18th century European and naval/Nelson history, as more background will help you enjoy this excellent and comprehensive book
An amazing biography of Nelson. Follows his entire career and his turbulent personal life. Nelson is vain, insubordinate, and a poor sailor prone to seasickness. He is also brilliant, innovative, and unfailingly loyal. He has two great loves in his life, love of the sea and love of whoever is his current romantic attachment. And through these loves he causes all who know him and many more who do not to love him. His sailors and fellow officers love him, and all of England grows to see him as their greatest hero. His greatest weakness is women. He is constantly falling in love, and it causes him to make rash decisions. He marries precipitously to a beautiful woman, but they are not a very good match, and eventually this leads to his strange three-person marriage which scandalizes Georgian England and causes many problems with his professional career. His wife is a noble lady of great beauty, but she never reconciles to being the wife of a sailor. As a Roman Senator once said, "People speak of the great beauty of my shoes, but only I know where they pinch me." His mistress is married to a much older man, of low birth and had had many lovers, and the one thing most people noted about her was her enormous girth. The heart wants what the heart wants. Despite this Nelson became the greatest Naval hero in British history, and his victory at Trafalgar ended the era of great naval battles for 100 years. His ship, Victory, is still listed on the English roles of active ships, and his victory and death at Trafalgar are still celebrated annually in the Navy.
An excellent biography, focused on Nelson himself. His battles are mostly covered quickly, his personal life more closely. The effects of his life and his death on the English are displayed, and his natural charisma endure to this day.