The Nelson Touch: The Life and Legend of Horatio Nelson

Rating:
Summary: A highly negative view of Nelson
Review: Coleman has written a highly negative biography of Nelson that stresses Nelson's faults while ignoring his accomplishments. Coleman believes that Nelson was engaged in war crimes at Naples since he decieved the rebels with a truce and than slaughtered them. Also Nelson bluffed his way to victory at Coopenhagen by overstating his strength to the Danish king in order to achieve a truce. Finally Coleman is critical of the way that Nelson treated his first wife with his affair with Emma Hamilton. Even though this is a highly negative biography of Nelson it is highly readable.

Rating:
Summary: Fun read
Review: I don't feel outraged that Coleman's treatment of Nelson is harsh. Why make Nelson something he wasn't: a saint.

Rating:
Summary: What's wrong with saying that Nelson was not perfect?
Review: I notice that Joel Hayward's new book also points out Nelson's flaws as a warrior and as a captain and as an officer. Maybe Hayward wrote it all in a more balance way, and with more context, but he still said similar things to Mr Coleman. Yet Coleman seems to have been singled out for criticism for merely showing that Nelson was human and used his legal disciplinary rights more often than we assumed. Big deal. He was a great admiral but just a man.