Rating: 
Summary: History as it ought to be written...
Review: ...but too often isn't. This is a highly entertaining biography of a truly remarkable man, and Robert Harvey is to be applauded for keeping the human element in the story while still giving us a clear account of the historical context within which his hero moved. Yes, there IS some hero-worship, but frankly there SHOULD be! Cochrane's actual adventures make his fictionalized shadows (Aubrey and Hornblower) pale by comparison, and Harvey writes in an un-put-downable style that keeps us going to the end. My only real complaint IS the end, there is a bit of a feeling of "rush" in the final chapters -essentially from when Cochrane leaves Brazil on- and it would have been fun to have his final years given more detail, but the first two thirds of both the book and Cochrane's life are such a rush that anything would have been an anti-climax.
Rating:
Summary: History as it ought to be written...
Review: ...but too often isn't. This is a highly entertaining biography of a truly remarkable man, and Robert Harvey is to be applauded for keeping the human element in the story while still giving us a clear account of the historical context within which his hero moved. Yes, there IS some hero-worship, but frankly there SHOULD be! Cochrane's actual adventures make his fictionalized shadows (Aubrey and Hornblower) pale by comparison, and Harvey writes in an un-put-downable style that keeps us going to the end. My only real complaint IS the end, there is a bit of a feeling of "rush" in the final chapters -essentially from when Cochrane leaves Brazil on- and it would have been fun to have his final years given more detail, but the first two thirds of both the book and Cochrane's life are such a rush that anything would have been an anti-climax.
Rating:
Summary: A rp-snorting biography of an amazing seaman
Review: Cochrane's life makes for a fascinating tale, here very well told by Robert Harvey. The book rushes along at breakneck speed, bringiug out the essential features of the hero without getting bogged down -- or overly concerned -- with details and alternative interpretations. For once, notes are properly left to the end of the book to be ignored.Cochrane himself was a mass of contradictions -- outstandingly able to out-think his military opponents, and almost totally at the mercy of his political ones, showing little ability to predict their actions. The venality and corruption of the latter pass belief, as does Cochrane's inability to realize how they will stand in his way. So also is the incompetence of the military commanders. This corruption and incompetence may not be surprising for a country as corrupt in all aspects of public life as Britain at the start of the 19th century. The surprising thing is that they were able to defeat Napolean at all. Where the other British strengths lay, and what might have been the source of the incompetence of Cochrane's opponents is not explored. While various writers have drawn on aspects of Cochrane's exploits in fictional work, their protagonists have quite different characters from the one presented here. He is more mysterious and possibly less sympathetic. Harvey does not dwell on the details of the exploits of his hero. He gives most detail to the incredible defeat by Cochrane of a French fleet in the face of notable lack of support from the admiral in charge of immediate British forces at Aix Roads. All in all, the economy of Harvey's presentation whets one's appetite for more -- more detail, more analysis, more background -- all a mark of a first-rate book. This is biography as page-turner -- and far better than most page -turners.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Captain, Scientist, and Radical Politician
Review: Cochrane's life was far more interesting than the Hornblower or Aubreynovels - Cochrane's exploits were so incredible that nobody wouldbelieve them in a work of fiction. He also had considerablescientific, engineering, and weapons design talents; he was an earlypioneer of screw propulsion for steamships, was an inventor ofgas-lighting (along with his father), invented both the smoke-screenand gas warfare, and his amazingly modern plans for an explosionvessel to devastate a harbor, if implemented, would have been theearly nineteenth century equivalent of a nuclear bomb. He was alsoa radical politician, with such radical notions for his time as`one person, one vote', plus the still-novel notion that poorpeople should get a fair shake. The powers-that-were subjected him toa political prosecution and sent him to prison. After his release, hegot the chief witness against him convicted of perjury; then fought inthe wars-of-independence of Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Greece; the fewships under his command destroyed or neutralized the Spanish andPortuguese fleets in the new world. Cochrane had the good fortuneto outlive the years of repression that followed the Napoleonic Wars,and saw some but not all of his novel tactics & methods &politics achieve acceptance. In his old age (he lived until 1860),the old hero saw his honours restored and was a favorite of QueenVictoria. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Captain, Scientist, and Radical Politician
Review: Cochrane's life was far more interesting than the Hornblower or Aubreynovels - Cochrane's exploits were so incredible that nobody wouldbelieve them in a work of fiction. He also had considerablescientific, engineering, and weapons design talents; he was an earlypioneer of screw propulsion for steamships, was an inventor ofgas-lighting (along with his father), invented both the smoke-screenand gas warfare, and his amazingly modern plans for an explosionvessel to devastate a harbor, if implemented, would have been theearly nineteenth century equivalent of a nuclear bomb. He was alsoa radical politician, with such radical notions for his time as'one person, one vote', plus the still-novel notion that poorpeople should get a fair shake. The powers-that-were subjected him toa political prosecution and sent him to prison. After his release, hegot the chief witness against him convicted of perjury; then fought inthe wars-of-independence of Chile, Peru, Brazil, and Greece; the fewships under his command destroyed or neutralized the Spanish andPortuguese fleets in the new world. Cochrane had the good fortuneto outlive the years of repression that followed the Napoleonic Wars,and saw some but not all of his novel tactics & methods &politics achieve acceptance. In his old age (he lived until 1860),the old hero saw his honours restored and was a favorite of QueenVictoria. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly entertaining hagiography
Review: Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books will love Robert Harvey's biography of Thomas Cochrane. This book, in fact, reads like a novel and O'Brian's reliance on the facts of Cochrane's career in creating the fictional Jack Aubrey was amply justified. For his part, Harvey relies heavily on contemporaneous accounts of Cochrane's exploits at sea (including Cochrane's own memoirs) and, even allowing for some measure of hyperbole by Harvey, it must be admitted that Cochrane's career was truly remarkable. An absolutely fearless combatant, usually outmanned and outgunned, Cochrane never shrank from attacking even the most formidable opponents. His exploits in the Mediterranean and later in South America and Greece are well-described by Harvey. Yet, on dry land, Cochrane's footing was less sure and so is Harvey's. His descriptions of Cochrane's involvement in the impeachment trial of Lord Gambier (arising from claims that the admiral inadequately supported Cochrane's attack in the Aix Roads), and his white-washing of Cochrane's participation in an infamous stock-exchange scandal are not entirely convincing. Although clearly the most daring and intrepid naval commander of his era, excepting only Nelson himself, Cochrane manifested fatal flaws in character (arrogance, contempt for authority, self-righteousness) which prevented him from achieving prominence of historical dimension. While acknowledging Cochrane's character flaws, Harvey admires his hero a little too much in describing these events. Still, this book can be recommended to anyone interested in naval history or historical fiction. Harvey writes in an easy, engaging style and it would be difficult for even the most inept biographer to write anything less than an entertaining book when the subject is Cochrane.
Rating:
Summary: Highly entertaining hagiography
Review: Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin books will love Robert Harvey's biography of Thomas Cochrane. This book, in fact, reads like a novel and O'Brian's reliance on the facts of Cochrane's career in creating the fictional Jack Aubrey was amply justified. For his part, Harvey relies heavily on contemporaneous accounts of Cochrane's exploits at sea (including Cochrane's own memoirs) and, even allowing for some measure of hyperbole by Harvey, it must be admitted that Cochrane's career was truly remarkable. An absolutely fearless combatant, usually outmanned and outgunned, Cochrane never shrank from attacking even the most formidable opponents. His exploits in the Mediterranean and later in South America and Greece are well-described by Harvey. Yet, on dry land, Cochrane's footing was less sure and so is Harvey's. His descriptions of Cochrane's involvement in the impeachment trial of Lord Gambier (arising from claims that the admiral inadequately supported Cochrane's attack in the Aix Roads), and his white-washing of Cochrane's participation in an infamous stock-exchange scandal are not entirely convincing. Although clearly the most daring and intrepid naval commander of his era, excepting only Nelson himself, Cochrane manifested fatal flaws in character (arrogance, contempt for authority, self-righteousness) which prevented him from achieving prominence of historical dimension. While acknowledging Cochrane's character flaws, Harvey admires his hero a little too much in describing these events. Still, this book can be recommended to anyone interested in naval history or historical fiction. Harvey writes in an easy, engaging style and it would be difficult for even the most inept biographer to write anything less than an entertaining book when the subject is Cochrane.
Rating:
Summary: A very sympathetic biography of an extraordinary warrior
Review: Harvey's biography of Thomas, Lord Cochrane, one of the Royal Navy's greatest fighting captains of the Napoleonic era and a hero of the liberation of South America is a vivid, highly sympathetic account of a remarkable man -- sailor, politician, inventor. As the publisher is eager to point out, Cochrane was a model for Jack Aubrey, Patrick O'Brian's marvelous creation (although I must point out that O'Brian gave his literary hero a rather different personality, even if many of his naval experiences and civilian woes are parallels to Cochrane's). It is difficult to believe some of the exploits that Cochrane pulled off and, if they were the invention of a novelist, you would be tempted to dismiss them as being realistically impossible. I cannot say that Harvey introduces much new material unfamiliar to those who have read earlier biographies of Lord Cochrane, although he perhaps gives a deservedly greater emphasis to his role as a liberator of Latin America from the Spanish empire. Certainly if someone has not read another biography of this extraordinary man, Harvey's book would be a very good place to start. My only real criticism is that perhaps Harvey is somewhat too enamored of his hero, too eager to dismiss possible flaws. This aside, I must believe that Harvey's book should appeal greatly to fans of the nautical fiction of C.S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian -- it is a case where truth is stranger and more unbelievable than fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting, but biased history
Review: I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about cutter and brig anti-privateering and sea-land battle tactics. Cochrane was a true master at both of these things, and this book did provide some useful insights. The author seems on a mission to put Cochrane on a pedestal. He spends too much time sniping at Cochrane's enemies, and whitewashing his misconduct. This makes an otherwise interesting story difficult to read at times. A much more indepth treatment of how Cochrane achieved his many victories without the political commentary would have been more interesting to me.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: If you were brought up on John Wayne, this book is for you. One of the problems in modern American society is the feeling that history started in 1940, and for some even later. This book shows that heroes were born and made and lived even as early as 200 years ago. The Horatio Hornblower books, the Patrick O'brien books, the Alexander Kent books. they are all based on this man. Now we can meet the real man, warts and all. And he fits into the world of America's beginnings, the Napoleonic wars, Revolutionary France, freedom in south america. Nearly up to the civil war. From round shot to rifled rounds. A great book.
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