In February 1793 France declared war on Britain & Holland & by 1815, established dynasties & kingdoms were overthrown, the United States had been established as a world power & a new age was dawning. This was to be the longest, hardest & cruellest war ever fought at sea & while the war on land saw the rise of the greatest soldier ever known
- Napoleon Buonaparte
- the war at sea had the formidable genius of Horatio Nelson. In The Line Upon A Wind, Noel Mostert has achieved a work of unparalleled research & illuminating analysis. He has also brought us the story of the daily lives of the sailors on board the fighting ships. There are heroes & villains, captains so harsh that crews were goaded to mutiny & others whose concern for the welfare of their crews changed life at sea forever. It is a tale of ordinary men & extraordinary bravery, of the building & navigation of fearsome warships & of a period of tumultuous conflict, change & innovation
- maritime history at its very best.