Psycho-Analytical | Nelson: Love and Fame

Good Analysis of Nelson's Rise to Power and Fame. | Nelson: Love and Fame | Edgar Vincent

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	• Nelson: Love and Fame Edgar Vincent Yale University Press, 2004 - 688 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Anachronistic but interesting book

I like this book very much, even though I concede that another reviewer is right: Edgar Vincent does analyse Nelson's personality and motivations through a modern (21st century) lense.

My other complaint is that the book deals too much with the topics identified in the sub-title (love and fame) but not enough on the qualities that made Nelson the great historical figure he is. Those relate to his naval mastery. To understand Nelson as an admiral, a warrior and a hero, see the new books by Joel Hayward, Brian Lavery, Jo Callo and, for Nelson's early career, John Sugden. Remember also that the doyen of Nelson studies, Colin White, has just published NELSON THE NEW LETTERS, which is an invaluable source collection.

Now, is Vincent's book good on the stuff that I'm not personally that interested in? The short answer is YES. Mr Vincent has researched admirably and painstakingly and created a three-dimensional portrait of the little fellow that generally rings true.

Vincent's Nelson is vainglorious, passionate, complex, humane and sometimes a bit foolish. We knew all that, but Mr Vincent has depicted all these qualities and weaknesses with considerable empathy and an obvious unwillingness to sensationalise or trivialise.

The book itself is a handsome volume, one that looks as good as it reads.

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Psycho-Analytical

This is a new perspective about "Love and Fame", and so it emphasizes the women he loved. I have read other bios. of Nelson, where the authors seem to know Nelson better. Here in this bio., Vincent gives psychological explanations for the motivations of Nelson, and gets them wrong. The author seems to be a 21st-century person explaining an 18th-century man in today's terms, and ultimately not understanding him. Nevertheless, the numerous large, color pictures of Nelson and his very lovely Lady Hamilton were wonderful additions.

Good Analysis of Nelson's Rise to Power and Fame.

In 1805, almost exactly 200 years ago, Horatio Nelson was killed just as his plans to defeat the French fleet were suceeding. Beautiful timing for a new biography that brings new light on Nelson's life.

The basics of the his life are not unknown. The interesting points addressed in this work concern things like his rise to such heights of power within the British Navy. The navy was a bastion of priveledge. The higher the social/royal ranking of a person, and the more wealth to impress one's peers the greater likelihood of promotion and power.

As the fifth son of a clergyman his rise to power had to depend on performance, fame, competance. Also there had to be hidden drives and an ability to self-promote in a manner that would not be offensive. How did Nelson rise to the top of the power pyramid? How did he get the captains of other ships, often people of higher social standing to follow his commands. The author was a senior manager at a large firm in England. He is able to analyze Nelson's life from a slightly different point of view than that of the more normal academic writer.

The result is a book that is likely to remain a classic for many years.

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I think this is a superior work but not much is new

This writer has not brought forth a new interpretation or provided new facts, but as a biography of a brilliant Englishman this is solid and enjoyable. It is a reliable narrative of all the main events in his life.

Legendary for his exploits in war and love, Admiral Horatio Nelson comes into clear view in this captivating new biography.

?This is a wonderful book, the best modern biography of Britain?s greatest admiral.??John Keegan, Daily Telegraph

?A great biography and a poignant love story.??Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly

?A masterly biography, cool and sharp in long shots, intimately persuasive in close focus, at all times difficult to put down and as timely as it is suggestive in its implications.??Hilary Spurling, New York Times Book Review

?A splendid biography, not only because it is well written and well researched, but also because it neither seeks to demean the hero nor excuse the man. Heroism becomes the more remarkable when it is shown by people who in other ways are very like ourselves.??L. G. Mitchell, Times Literary Supplement

?Vincent has written a masterful biography of a military man that examines the nuts and bolts of leadership in an entertaining and compelling way. . . . If you only read one biography of Nelson among the hundreds available, it should be this one.??Paul Carbray, The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec)

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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