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G**S
compact beautifully illustrated review of Nelson's life, misses a little:
Very digestible and useful but misses some important context, especially how the Battle of the Nile followed from Napoleon's eastward intent.
L**A
Good read
Well written not to dry puts a character on the man
M**M
an hero's easy autobiography
for those [ like me ] who don't want to not get 'bogged down' reading a 300 page tome an easy way to get a brief outline of a great englishman.
N**Y
A good illustrated introduction to the life of Nelson
This is a good illustrated introduction to the life of Nelson, written by an expert on the age of the wooden ship, but apart from the maps and plans, the illustrations while technically competent, are not as good as some contemporary illustrations. If you can find a cheap copy, well enough, otherwise for Osprey collectors only.The Contents are –P04: IntroductionP05: The Young NelsonP07: Captain NelsonP12: The Years of DestinyP51: Inside Nelson’s MindP53: Rival AdmiralsP55: Nelson’s LegacyP58: A Life in WordsP61: Further ReadingP62: GlossaryP64: IndexThe Colour Plates –P11: Colour plate – Captain Nelson at the siege of Calvi, July 1794This plate contains 8 figures and 2 guns behind gabions, so there is no distant view; a cannon-ball has just struck a gabion, throwing debris over the gun crews, and Nelson receives the wound that blinds him in his right eye.P13: ½-page map – The naval situation, 1793-1805P17: Plan – The battle of Cape St. Vincent, 14 February 1797 [this shows 27 Spanish ships versus 15 British]P24: Colour Plate – The poop deck of HMS Vanguard at the battle of the Nile, August 1798.Here we see 9 figures in the foreground, or thereabouts, with six marines in the background, lining the bulwark, which are obscuring any distant view, though there is one gap through which we can just see part of a French ship.P27: Plan – The battle of the Nile, 1 August 1798P35: Plan – The battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801P46: Plan – The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805P49: Colour Plate – HMS Victory breaks through the Allied line at the battle of Trafalgar, October 1805.This picture is dominated by the front of the Victory looming out of the smoke, with the sails of another British ship behind her, and the back of a French ship taking a battering to our right, and the front of another ship edging in from our left. There is one figure at the bottom of the picture, in the back of a small boat, but the artist has managed to avoid anything but the occasional suggestion of a figure on the ships, so we have no scale. There are better 19th century paintings of this scene which would have made better use of the page, in my opinionThere are many colour and monochrome reproductions of period drawings and paintings to support the text.
E**D
Get it asap from Caliver Books, before they reprice it. They deserve recognition.
An excellent fact=filled brief summary, examining both Nelson's warts and brilliance, and also the Royal Navy's.
M**S
Very readable
Interesting a few details I never knew about Nelson
