Details: By: Joseph F. Callo

After two centuries of biographies and analyses of the man who shaped the course of history from the decks of his ships, Admiral Lord Nelson speaks for himself in this collection of compelling excerpts from his private letters and dispatches.

Through Nelson's own words readers come to fully appreciate the admiral's piercing insights and provocative opinions. With chapters devoted to such subjects as duty, combat, politics, sea power, life and death, and Nelson's views of himself and his wife, Frances Nisbet and his paramour Lady Hamilton, this book offers an array of memorable quotations. Each is placed in context by accompanying comments by the author.

While conventional biographies develop Nelson's character from the outside looking in, this book creates a candid self-portrait from the innermost thoughts of the subject. Rare engravings depict events in Nelson's life.