
In the Hour of Victory
The Royal Navy at War in the Age of Nelson
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Narrated by:
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Greg Wagland
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By:
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Sam Willis
The greatest victories from the British Navy's golden age, told through never-before-seen letters from the officers themselves.
When Napoleon eventually died in exile, the Lords of the Admiralty ordered that the original dispatches from seven major fleet battles - The Glorious First of June (1794), St Vincent (1797), Camperdown (1797), The Nile (1798), Copenhagen (1801), Trafalgar (1805), and San Domingo (1806) - should be gathered together and presented to the nation. These letters, written by Britain's admirals, captains, surgeons, and boatswains and sent back home in the midst of conflict, were bound in an immense volume, to be admired as a jewel of British history.
Sam Willis, one of Britain's finest naval historians, stumbled on this collection by chance in the British Library in 2010 and soon found that only a handful of people knew of its existence. Willis here shapes that material into wonderful character portraits of the commanders on both sides, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. He also provides concise and illuminating explanations of the convoluted political circumstances surrounding each battle as he expertly reinterprets these key engagements in extraordinary and revelatory detail.
A beautifully dramatic narrative, In the Hour of Victory tells the story of these naval triumphs as never before and allows us to hear once more the officer's voices as they describe the battles that made Britain great.
©2013 Sam Willis. Appendix II. Copyright 2013 by Nicholas Blake. First American edition 2014. (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















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Unique look at major Royal Navy battles
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Oh the Letters
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The Glorious Age of Sale
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Outstanding
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However, the author ends with a long description of how the British Navy was not relevant and then seems to contradict himself.
A more complete analysis of either position would have been better appreciated.
DID IT OR DIDN'T IT???
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New perspective
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Narration flawed
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Insightful and intelligent. A widow in to a past.
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Great book.
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The book is engaging and kept me thoroughly interested throughout. Many battles are discussed in depth, but not in so much depth as to be tedious.
We get to learn a lot about British naval leadership, particularly about admiral Nelson as he was involved in, and wrote letters regarding so many of these battles. For someone who like me who's only somewhat familiar with naval warfare in that age, there's also a lot to learn about naval technology and strategy.
Like in McCullough's "1776," the use of primary documents entwined into the narrative is a chef's kiss.
The telling is full of thoughtful and easy to spot opinions that don't interrupt The narrative.
I highly recommend this book. I'm not sure why anybody is giving four-star reviews when this is clearly a five-star book.
As good as McCullough 1776
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