The Life of Nelson: The Embodiment of the Sea Power of Great Britain

Republished at the midpoint of the "Nelson Decade," which commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of the admiral's electrifying victory and death at Trafalgar, this historically significant work is as relevant to today's readers as it was when first published more than a century ago. Despite the obvious differences between Nelson's world and ours, the qualities of leadership he demonstrated are readily transferable, and the economic and political influences on his navy are remarkably similar to those exerted on navies of the twenty-first century. Originally written in two volumes, the biography is now offered in a facsimile edition of the revised single-volume study published in 1899. The author, Alfred Thayer Mahan, remains a highly regarded naval historian and naval theorist who saw Nelson as the on-deck demonstrator of the broad theories of sea power that he himself was articulating. As the subtitle of the book indicates, Mahan focuses on Nelson's professional life and provides a penetrating analysis of his naval career. Avoiding the pitfalls of previous biographies colored by hero worship, Mahan provides a balanced view that even won over an initially skeptical British audience. Evaluating the legendary figure from across an ocean and across nearly a century of time, he takes full advantage of information that appeared after Nelson's death and his own considerable knowledge of naval matters. One of Mahan's best books, this biography is credited with elevating the understanding of the geopolitical role of sea power and accelerating the influence of sea power on American history.