This book takes us into the fascinating and sometimes tragic world of the boy sailors of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, fighting and dying for their country across the oceans of the world. They 'fought like young Nelsons.' The words of a schoolmaster, writing from aboard the Mars after the battle of Trafalgar, describing the valour of his pupils in the heat of battle. Made immortal by the novels of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent, these boy sailors, alongside those of every other Royal Navy ship, had entered the British Navy to fight the French across every ocean of the world. There was a long-standing British tradition of children going to sea, and along the way found adventure, glory, wealth and fame. During the Napoleonic Wars, these children, some as young as eight or nine, were also fighting for the very survival of Britain. Drawing on many first-hand accounts, letters, poems and writings, this book tells the dramatic story of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars for the very first time.

This book takes us into the fascinating and sometimes tragic world of the boy sailors of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, fighting and dying for their country across the oceans of the world. They 'fought like young Nelsons.' The words of a schoolmaster, writing from aboard the Mars after the battle of Trafalgar, describing the valour of his pupils in the heat of battle. Made immortal by the novels of Patrick O'Brian, C. S. Forester and Alexander Kent, these boy sailors, alongside those of every other Royal Navy ship, had entered the British Navy to fight the French across every ocean of the world. There was a long-standing British tradition of children going to sea, and along the way found adventure, glory, wealth and fame. During the Napoleonic Wars, these children, some as young as eight or nine, were also fighting for the very survival of Britain. Drawing on many first-hand accounts, letters, poems and writings, this book tells the dramatic story of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars for the very first time.

'Fascinating . . . Shot through with fresh insights . . . No previous biography has attempted anything so comprehensive.' ObserverNelson is a thrilling new appraisal of Horatio Nelson, the greatest practitioner of naval command the world has ever seen. It explores the professional, personal, intellectual and practical origins of one 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. In Nelson, Andrew Lambert - described by David Cannadine as 'the outstanding British naval historian of his generation' - is able to offer new insights into the individual quality which led Byron rightly to celebrate Nelson's genius as 'Britannia's God of War'. He demonstrates how Admiral Nelson elevated the business of naval warfare to the level of the sublime. Nelson's unique gift was to take that which other commanders found complex, and reduce it to simplicity. Where his predecessors and opponents saw a particular battle as an end in itself, Nelson was always a step ahead - even in the midst of terrifying, close-quarters action, with officers and men struck down all around him. 'Excellent . . . Worthy of the stirring events [it celebrates].' Independent

An account of the British naval commander's life and career explores his leadership style, his victory against the Spanish fleet at Cape St. Vincent, and his relationships with women and family members.

Lord Nelson's widely admired approach to leadership and management is distilled into a series of practical insights for today's managers.

Horatio Nelson's first captain was William Locker who recognised the exceptional talents of the young midshipman who was to become the most famous sailor in history. Thirty-seven years later Admiral Lord Nelson wrote to Locker 'I have been your scholar; it was you who taught me to board a Frenchman by your conduct It is you who always taught me to lay a Frenchman close and you will beat him. My only merit in my profession is being a good scholar'. Captain William Locker's career as a Sea Captain fighting the King's enemies on the high seas makes gripping reading and high drama.

While there is a perennial interest in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars and in Nelson himself, there is no reference work that chronicles all the captains of his ships, their social origins, their characters and the achievements in their lives beyond their service under Nelson. This new book, researched and written by distinguished historians, descendants of some of Nelson's officers, and members of the 1805 Club, presents concise biographies of those officers who fought with Nelson in his three great battles, with superb colour illustration throughout. Nelson first gave the name of 'band of brothers' to the officers who had commanded ships of his fleet at the battle of the Nile (1798). This new volume will include 100 officers, ranging from lieutenants in command of gunboats at the battle of Copenhagen (1801) through captains of line-of- battle ships at the Nile and at Trafalgar (1805), to admirals in command of squadrons in his fleets. Of real significance are the specially commissioned photographs of all the monuments and memorials to Nelson's captains, descriptions with transcriptions of epitaphs, and clear directions to enable the readers to find them. Part travel book, part biography and moving testimony to Nelson's faithful captains, Nelson's band of Brothers presents the opportunity to rediscover 100 local heroes.