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Title: Lord Cochrane, Seaman, Radical, Liberator: A Life of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (Heart of Oak Sea Classics Series) by Christopher Lloyd ISBN: 0-8050-5569-X Publisher: Owl Books Pub. Date: October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: The real stuff
Comment: Lord Cochrane won an astonishingly brilliant series of victories in three different British ships against the French and Spanish during the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. The first 80 pages of this biography cover his astounding career in single-ship actions, and the inability of the Admiralty to understand his innovations. The next 55 pages deal with his ignominious Radical parliamentary career and financial fiascos. Another 46 pages cover his attempts to free a series of colonies from their Iberian or Ottoman masters, and how the rebels repeatedly frustrated victory and, of course, didn't pay up. The final 21 pages cover his attempts to restore his honor and his contributions to the deveopment of a recognizably modern navy. The editors say this 1947 book was selected for its congenial style and vignettes of Cochrane, not because it is the last word on the irascible man. This biography is superseded in accuracy by those employing additional family and governmental papers made public since the 1960's and listed in the brief bibliography.
Fans of naval fiction should note that Forester's Hornblower frequently adopts Lord Cochrane's audacious naval exploits, as do many other series' heroes. Forester having appropriated Lord Cochrane's real adventures, Dudley Pope's Lord Ramage series seems to depend more on invented exploits to fill out the same general historical progression. O'Brian's Jack Aubrey also partakes of Cochrane's political ineptness and suffers his finanacial scandal (see especially the early Aubrey novels). While occasionally you see inspiration from Cochrane's later attempts to aid South Americans win their freedom from Spain (Forester, O'Brian, Cornwell), no novelist has taken up Cochrane's inventions (like ship lanterns, tar derivatives, chemical warfare!, and steam warships). This book might slightly disappoint some fiction fans because it lacks details or even a brief description of ALL of Cochrane's remarkable exploits in his Biscay or Mediterranean theaters of operation. But for any fans of Fighting Sail, Lord Cochrane is the inspiring source, and Lloyd's book a well-written introduction.
Rating: 5
Summary: SUPERB NAVAL/POLITICAL HISTORY
Comment: A thoroughly researched and beautifully written treatment of the life of one of Great Britain's most important heroes from the Age of Fighting Sail. I've devoured everything I can find on the Royal Navy for years -- this is among the most memorable volumes available! Lord Cochrane was a naval commander in war (and peace) whose talents almost rivalled the great Nelson's, and unlike Nelson he lived to a ripe old age. In a surprisingly "modern" twist to Cochrane's biography, he was duped into a financial scandal that led to bad headlines, ugly partisan politics, and a nasty court case. His subsequent efforts on the part of Latin American nations to help them win independence from Spain make him a veritable nautical Simon Bolivar. Author Lloyd brings this amazing man to life with compelling prose.
Rating: 5
Summary: Admiral of the Blue, by fermed
Comment: Lord Cochrane was, by all accounts, a superior naval officer. He was inventive, bold, imaginative, extremely meticulous in his preparations for action, and capable of great theatrics in the service of victory in battle, in capturing prizes, and in befuddling the enemy. He treated his men honorably at a time when abusing them was the norm and he rewarded them handsomely from the prize revenues he engendered. As a result he was adored by his subordinates and never had trouble recruiting personnel to serve under him.
He was a model which inspired aspects of Jack Aubrey and Hornblower and other fictional characters of the Anglo-French wars. His true life was even more tumultuous than the fiction it spawned, for he became a naval hero in Chile and in Peru, in Brazil, and in Greece as he participated in each of those countries' wars of independence.
When on land, Lord Cochrane was an inept, impetuous, cantankerous politician (he was a member of parliament for 10 years), who had no notion of the art of politics, and therefore was repeatedly demolished by his enemies, which were many. It is amazing that the brilliant and disciplined naval officer and tactician would become a bumbling, disorganized politician, but that is precisely what happened. He was involved in financial scandals, his honors and medals were removed, and his purse squandered and lost. It is likely that this honorable man was never guilty of the charges for which he was convicted (stock fraud), but the truth shall never be known for sure.
He lived a long life (1775 - 1860) and by the time he died at 85 he had managed to (mostly) repair his honor, his finances, and his reputation, more as a result of the political changes around him than as a result of having learned political lessons.
This book by Christopher Lloyd, a professional naval historian, has the scholar's convincing tone and language throughout. It has a fair index and bibliography. The book is highly recommended to the Aubrey-Maturin fans who are forever expanding their collections with ancillary historical volumes that allow for additional enjoyment of the series.
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Title: Cochrane: The Life and Exploits of a Fighting Captain by Robert Harvey ISBN: 0786709235 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Autobiography of a Seaman by Admiral Lord Cochrane ISBN: 1585740616 Publisher: The Lyons Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Peter Simple (Heart of Oak Sea Classics Series) by Frederick Marryat, Louis J. Parascandola ISBN: 0805055657 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Doctor Dogbody's Leg (Heart of Oak Sea Classics Series) by James Norman Hall, Dean King ISBN: 0805058311 Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc. Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Mr Midshipman Easy (Classics of Nautical Fiction Series) by Frederick Marryat ISBN: 0935526404 Publisher: McBooks Press Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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