Publication date: 2001-04 Dewey code: 932.014092 Price: £18.95
Review Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet / Thames & Hudson Ltd:
Publication date: 1997-08-21 RRP: £18.99 Price: £6.99
Review Oliver Cromwell: King in All But Name, 1653-58 / Sutton Publishing Ltd:
Publication date: 2006-06-15 Dewey code: 907.202 RRP: £30.00 Price: £23.50
Review Captain Professor: The Memoirs of Sir Michael Howard / Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.:
Publication date: 2008-11-14 Dewey code: 956.704438 RRP: £14.99 Price: £9.29
Review Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq / The Lyons Press:
Edition: New Ed Publication date: 1997-09-04 Dewey code: 941.085092 Price: £14.00
Review Enoch Powell: A Biography / Pimlico:
Edition: 2 Publication date: 2005-04-29 Dewey code: 937.05092 RRP: £19.99 Price: £14.57
Review Sulla: The Last Republican / Routledge:
Publication date: 2008-02-18 Dewey code: 920 RRP: £6.99 Price: £5.59
Review Saddam Hussein: The Butcher of Baghdad / Filiquarian Publishing:
Creator: Michael Staunton Publication date: 2001-08-09 Dewey code: 942.031092 RRP: £14.99 Price: £14.23
Review The Lives of Thomas Becket (Manchester Medieval Studies) / Manchester University Press:
Publication date: 2007-09-27 Dewey code: 941.085092 RRP: £16.99 Price: £10.98
Review Best for Britain?: The Politics and Legacy of Gordon Brown / Oneworld Publications:
Publication date: 2004-09-02 RRP: £25.00 Price: £6.92
Review Nelson: v. 1: A Dream of Glory: v. 1 / Jonathan Cape Ltd:Described as the definitive biography, volume 1 of John Sugden's Nelson is the fruit of over a decade's research and, at nearly 800 pages long, represents the most comprehensive and detailed account of Nelson's early years. Modern English folk might well have been saddened when the news broke that Princess Diana died or when John Lennon was assassinated but it is difficult to imagine the depth of national grief and pride occasioned at the news of Nelson's demise. At the time of his death in 1805 he was seen as the very epitome of the greatness of Britain, a founder of its security and worldwide influence. What makes Sugden's biography so authoritative is that having familiarized himself with all other previous accounts his research draws upon thousands of previously unseen letters and documents which in turn has enabled him to strip away many enduring misconceptions and embellishments that have attached themselves to the Nelson story. At the same time Sugden is not simply covering old ground since his account traces the least familiar period of Nelson's life from childhood to the brink of international fame in 1797. Granted that Sugden's scholarship is first-class it still remains to say that he manages to turn the wealth of facts at his disposal into a smooth-flowing, accessible narrative. We learn about Nelson's apprenticeship and his development into a decisive, ambitious, courageous young admiral and the personal qualities that gained him the trust, love and loyalty of the men who followed him. Much of the book deals with the day to day detail of life on board ship and with the skirmishes and battles- on both land and sea- that built Nelson's reputation. Sugden does a wonderful job of explaining the reasons for Nelson's successchiefly his early recognition that the skilled efficiency of British seamanship was superior to that of her enemies. That meant that individual ships, and the British fleet in general, could break with the established rules of engagement, take more chances and ultimately gain spectacular victories against much larger and stronger foes. [+]
If one were to be picky the one minor drawback with the book is that with the main focus upon the events in Nelson's life it is hard to understand how the navy was organized and managed and difficult to see Nelson's life in the broader context of the history of the British Navy. Fortunately NAM Rodger's The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815 perfectly answers the call. By the time the narrative comes to an end the relatively young admiral, with his reputation secure but still hungry for glory, is effectively blind in one eye, lacking a right arm and brooding on the dismal prospect of retirement. We have to wait for the completion of volume two for the full account of his last few great years at the forefront of the European war. -Larry Brown.
Publication date: 2005-11-07 RRP: £20.00 Price: £2.08
Review Churchill's Bodyguard / Headline:
Publication date: 2006-09-15 Dewey code: 941.083092 RRP: £9.99 Price: £3.75
Review Lloyd George (20 British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century) / Haus Publishing Limited:
Publication date: 2001-10-18 RRP: £12.99 Price: £1.19
Review The Young Melbourne & Lord M / Weidenfeld & Nicolson:
Publication date: 1990-05-01 Dewey code: 951.05092 RRP: £6.51 Price: £12.96
Review Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung / Sinolingua:
Publication date: 2004-04-30 Dewey code: 301.092 RRP: £15.99 Price: £10.47
Review In Sierra Leone / Duke University Press:
Publication date: 2007-10-01 Dewey code: 320 RRP: £9.99 Price: £4.96
Review Testimony: France, Europe, and the World in the Twenty-First Century: France, Europe, and the World in the Twenty-first Century / Harper Perennial:
Publication date: 1993-12-20 Dewey code: 941.062 RRP: £12.99 Price: £12.99
Review Charles I, 1625-40 (Seminar Studies In History) / Longman:
Publication date: 2006-10-05 Dewey code: 355 RRP: £25.00 Price: £13.50
Review Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig / Birlinn Ltd:
Edition: New edition Publication date: 2006-05-12 Dewey code: 940.53175845 RRP: £10.00 Price: £6.00
Review When God Looked the Other Way: An Odyssey of War, Exile, and Redemption / Chicago University Press:
Publication date: 2007-07-20 Dewey code: 943.0860922 RRP: £14.99 Price: £3.49
Review The Himmler Brothers / Macmillan:
| Browse Political:
Models & Brands: Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet, Oliver Cromwell: King in All But Name, 1653-58, Captain Professor: The Memoirs of Sir Michael Howard, Operation Hotel California: The Clandestine War Inside Iraq, Enoch Powell: A Biography, Sulla: The Last Republican, Saddam Hussein: The Butcher of Baghdad, The Lives of Thomas Becket (Manchester Medieval Studies), Best for Britain?: The Politics and Legacy of Gordon Brown, Nelson: v. 1: A Dream of Glory: v. 1, Churchill's Bodyguard, Lloyd George (20 British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century), The Young Melbourne & Lord M, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, In Sierra Leone, Testimony: France, Europe, and the World in the Twenty-First Century: France, Europe, and the World in the Twenty-first Century, Charles I, 1625-40 (Seminar Studies In History), Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig, When God Looked the Other Way: An Odyssey of War, Exile, and Redemption, The Himmler Brothers |