Nelson: Britannia's God of War
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.24 (937 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0571212220 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 356 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-03-09 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Putting Nelson in Context Not just a life of Nelson, it puts Nelson's life in context. After Nelson's death, his importance has been twisted, obscured and resurrected. It's an interesting story. If you are looking for his life story, it's in there, and it's well done. The difference is Lambert's analysis of his place in history sums up what is an amazing life with the influence that life continues to have on Britain. Oh, and Emma, Lady Hamilton is there too, but in the background where she belongs.. John McGregor said Not a Good Biography. Perhaps an adequate accounting of the naval history of the Napoleonic Wars from the English perspective.But a very poor telling of Admiral Lord Nelson's life unless one is content to be told that the same (paraphrasing without deprecating) "was a great leader" or "impressed his superiors with his extraordinary leadership," or "was by this point widely recognized to be such a great leader that" So much probably is imagined of Lord Nelson by most who know his name, but this "biography" will tell you little of how he came to be such a man and much less of what it was . "Buy a different book" according to Mark A. Smith. I don't recommend. Assumes the reader has a pretty good knowledge of the history of the time. Does not give sufficient detail to explain what's going on and his portrayal of Nelson is fawning. The author's portrayal of Nelson as devoted to the letter of the law and to duty could be just as easily interpreted as whining and backstabbing. Even if the book were more thorough, the author has an unusual writing style and his syntax makes for awkward reading.
Nelson explores the professional, personal, intellectual and practical origins of the man's genius, to understand how the greatest warrior that Britain has ever produced transformed the art of conflict, and enabled his country to survive the challenge of total war and international isolation.. Where his predecessors and opponents saw a particular battle as an end in itself, Nelson - even in the midst of terrifying, close-quarters action - was concerned to exploit the victory he was achieving. What made Nelson so special? What individual quality led Byron rightly to celebrate Nelson's genius as 'Britannia's God of War'? Andrew Lambert demonstrates how Nelson elevated the business of naval warfare to the level of
. Professor Andrew Lambert is Professor of Naval History at King's College, London. His books include Trincomalee: the Last of Nelson's Frigates and The Foundations of Naval History
'The outstanding British naval historian of his generation.' David Cannadine