The Line Upon a Wind: The Great War at Sea, 1793-1815 - Hardcover

Mostert, Noel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0393066533 ISBN 13: 9780393066531

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

Synopsis

The thrilling story of Britain's death-struggle with Revolutionary France, wherein Napoleon is checkmated by Nelson's brilliant naval exploits.

In February 1793 France declared war on Britain, and for the next twenty-two years the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars raged. This was to be the longest, cruelest war ever fought at sea, comparable in scale only to the Second World War. New naval tactics were brought to bear, along with such unheard-of weapons as rockets, torpedoes, and submarines. The war on land saw the rise of the greatest soldier the world had ever known―Napoleon Bonaparte―whose vast ambition was thwarted by a genius he never met in person or in battle: Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Noel Mostert's narrative ranges from the Mediterranean to the West Indies, Egypt to Scandinavia, showing how land versus sea was the key to the outcome of these wars. He provides details of ship construction, tactics, and life on board. Above all he shows us the extraordinary characters that were the raw material of Patrick O'Brian's and C. S. Forester's magnificent novels.

About this title

About the Author:

Noel Mostert was the Montreal Star correspondent in New York and Europe during the 1950s and has since reported for different American magazines from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He lives in Tangiers.

From Booklist:

For 22 years, the Napoleonic Wars ravaged Europe, toppled thrones, reshaped empires, and determined the diplomatic and political destinies of European nation-states for the next century. The land battles and chief military figures of those battles are familiar, even to many laypeople. The naval campaigns, perhaps less publicized, were equally as important in the defeat of Napoléon. Mostert, a former foreign correspondent, has written a stirring saga of these campaigns that is both comprehensive and easy to digest. Although Mostert doesn’t neglect the technical aspects of naval warfare, he avoids the trap of allowing details to overwhelm his exciting narrative. This is a vast, fast-moving chronicle that ranges across great distances while examining a host of characters, both well known and relatively obscure. Mostert does justifiably place great emphasis on Admiral Nelson and the critical battle at Trafalgar. He also offers useful and interesting descriptions of less-prominent aspects of the wars, including conflicts with the Barbary pirates and the British struggles against the rise of American naval power. This is an outstanding survey of a prolonged struggle that helped shape world history. --Jay Freeman

About this edition

• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0393066533
• ISBN 13: 9780393066531
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 800