A Thirst for Glory: The Life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith
Tom Pocock
Admiral Sir Sidney Smith liked to think of himself as a second Nelson, and there were parallels between the two. Smith and Nelson shared the credit for changing the course of history by ending Napoleon Bonaparte's dream of eastern conquest: Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Smith by his defence of Acre. While Nelson became the unrivalled national hero, Smith has been almost forgotten. Yet had his advice been followed, campaigns in the Middle East would have been forgotten and thousands of lives saved.
Book Details:
- Author: Tom Pocock
- Published Year: 1998
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Rights Sold
- UK: Pimlico
Tom Pocock
Tom Pocock is the author of 18 books (and editor of two more), mostly biographies but including two about his experiences as a newspaper war correspondent.Born in London in 1925 - the son of the novelist and educationist Guy Pocock - he was educated at Westminster School and Cheltenham College, joining the Royal Navy in 1943. He was at sea during the invasion of Normandy and, having suffered from ill-health, returned to civilian life and in 1945 became a war correspondent at the age of 19,the youngest of the Second World War.After four years wth the Hulton Press current affairs magazine gro...
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Book Reviews
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"Tom Pocock's biography does justice to a gifted and colourful personality... Tom Pocock gives a most lively and readable account of him..."
John Grigg, The Spectator -
"Tom Pocock is one of the leading naval historians of the period and writes with learning and great narrative elan. This is a sympathetic and hugely entertaining portrait of a figure Napoleon admired and considered 'half mad'"
John Adamson, Sunday Telegraph -
"Tom Pocock's illuminating biography..."
Flora Fraser, The Sunday Times