The Great Duke
by Arthur Bryant
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Description
"Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (1 May 1769[1]? 14 September 1852), was a British soldier and statesman, a native of Ireland from the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century. He is often referred to as the "Duke of Wellington", even after his death, even though there have been subsequent Dukes of Wellington."--Wikipedia.Tags
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Member Reviews
This is a good basic biography for those not having the patience for picking the relevant details out of Elizabeth Longworth's two volume opus. Bryant is a clear writer and kept in mind his duty to the readers of Oman's history of the Peninsular conflict. This is superior to the works by Weller or Cornwell.
I found on the internet the following quote:
"Wellington and English writers played down the role of any troops except their own. The Dutch and Germans [ I could add: Spanish or Portuguese] and their commanders are conveniently forgotten except, of course, where blame is imparted. The modern English accounts tend to be shallow and superficial works that repeat selected myths without bothering to refer to other accounts."
This book is a typical example of that: arrogant, biased, one-sided: the worst of English history traditions.
And beside this, the book is not very readable: sentences that run 13 (thirteen) printed lines!
To be avoided, it does injustice to Arthur Wellesley.
"Wellington and English writers played down the role of any troops except their own. The Dutch and Germans [ I could add: Spanish or Portuguese] and their commanders are conveniently forgotten except, of course, where blame is imparted. The modern English accounts tend to be shallow and superficial works that repeat selected myths without bothering to refer to other accounts."
This book is a typical example of that: arrogant, biased, one-sided: the worst of English history traditions.
And beside this, the book is not very readable: sentences that run 13 (thirteen) printed lines!
To be avoided, it does injustice to Arthur Wellesley.
mentioned enthusiastically elsewhere - SEL librarian
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Author Information
62+ Works 2,614 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1971
- People/Characters
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
- Important events
- Napoleonic Wars (1803 | 1815)
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 940.2 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe Europe: Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, Napolean
- LCC
- DA68.12 .W4 .B96 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Great Britain History of Great Britain England History
Statistics
- Members
- 62
- Popularity
- 498,096
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.81)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 7
