The Autobiography of a Seaman Admiral Lord Cochrane 9781515107064 Books
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This is the exciting true life story of one of Britain’s most controversial admirals Admiral Lord Cochrane.
Napoleon called him le loup des mers (“the sea wolf’). One cannot visit a town in Chile (where he is seen as a hero) without crossing at least one street or town square that bears his name. He proposed the use of saturation bombing and chemical warfare over half a century before their use. And his adventures have inspired the likes of Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester.
Known as a dashing, brilliant young sailor for his exploits against the Spanish, Cochrane was also a fearless campaigner against incompetence and corruption in the navy and in politics.
Charged with a daring assault on the French in the famous Battle of the Aix Roads, he publicly accused his superiors of timidity when the action was called off at the last minute.
He was elected to the House of Commons, where he fought vigilantly for the pensions of war veterans, only to make enemies with some of the most powerful families in Britain, including future prime minister of England Lord Palmerston.
Later, he commanded the Chilean Navy in their fight for independence against Spain, helped develop naval warfare under steam, and devoted himself to developing a weapon of mass destruction (poison gas), which was so shocking to his contemporaries that his plans were shelved as classified until World War I.
Lord Cochrane’s autobiography tells the story of one man whose wit and planning enabled the capture of many enemy ships but whose fearless determination afflicted the rest of his life.
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The Autobiography of a Seaman Admiral Lord Cochrane 9781515107064 Books
I wanted to read this because I'm a fan of Patrick O'Brian's series of books featuring the Aubrey/Maturin characters. I had read that he based much of the action in his books on the actual life of Admiral Lord Cochrane. When I began reading his autobiography I had no idea what a wonderful read was ahead of me. The language was so modern. I supposed for the year it was written and the fact that it was written by a man who lived during the Napoleonic period and the Crimean War, I expected something more difficult or at least more formal. Not so!He wrote openly about his life, his successes, his trials and tribulations and the injustices he faced for not always following the rules when the rules would have resulted in defeat. His life was an adventure and he was a brave, bold man who took calculated risks that most seamen would have avoided. One of the most impressive things about those risks is that he did not risk the lives of his men carelessly. His casualty lists were low.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure stories. This man should never be forgotten!
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Tags : The Autobiography of a Seaman [Admiral Lord Cochrane] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>This is the exciting true life story of one of Britain’s most controversial admirals: Admiral Lord Cochrane.</b> Napoleon called him le loup des mers (“the sea wolf’). One cannot visit a town in Chile (where he is seen as a hero) without crossing at least one street or town square that bears his name. He proposed the use of saturation bombing and chemical warfare over half a century before their use. And his adventures have inspired the likes of Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester. Known as a dashing,Admiral Lord Cochrane,The Autobiography of a Seaman,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,151510706X,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Military
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The Autobiography of a Seaman Admiral Lord Cochrane 9781515107064 Books Reviews
An interesting and presumably true story of the experiences of the master of a naval sailing warship at the time of Nelson and Napoleon. Of course, he gives his own side of the story, but if it is accurate the Sea Lords have much to answer for. His tactics remind me of the German Raiders, and the British Q-Ships, during World War 2 - no hesitation in adopting a disguise and flying the flag of a neutral country until the last minute, and then attacking the enemy as the Union Jack is hoisted! The limitations imposed by reliance on wind-power, the difficulties of negotiating uncharted waters with their shoals and reefs, are highlighted. If he could not escape seawards to escape, fortunately the enemy also were unable to approach and mount an attack. All stirring stuff, carried out with courage and innovation by a brave master. I think we can presume that promotion depended greatly on one's title and connections - it's a wonder that Nelson was promoted under those conditions!
An interesting read written bt the real " Master & Commander ". As any book written almost 200 years ago it suffers from linguistic challenges for the reader. It also leaves the reader wishing to hear the other side of the authors stories as many autobiographies appear so one sided. The book is full of his many adventures as a fighting captain during the Nepoleononic wars. Just like Patrick O'Briens fictionalized character, Capt. Jack Aubrey.
The author also tells his story of continual slights by the admiralty on a seemingly continuous basis, the less than stellar performance by his peers and the ignorance shown by fellow members of parliament. All in all this is a worthwhile look into naval affairs in the earlier 1800's.
A thorn in the side of the French he was fighting, and the government who were supposed to be on his side, Admiral Lord Cochrane was unique. On his exploits novelists have patterned their Napoleonic War sea adventures, but Cochrane's own history needs no novelist.
He specialised in commando style, highly personal, raiding which he executed to great effect. To such great effect that he made enemies among traditional chair-borne Admiralty executives, not helped by bombarding them with his personal views on how he could win the war if only they would do as he told them, and exposing the scandal of prize money kept by the administrators who never dirtied their hands at war.
He was of the aristocracy and had good connections in high places which doubtless explained his survival until as both a naval officer and member of parliament his political enemies framed him in a stock market fraud, when as a result he was imprisoned, fined heavily, discharged from the navy and stripped of his decorations, his banner literally kicked out of Westminster Abbey.
The book (autobiography) is divided between his earlier British Navy exploits and very lengthy and rather tedious explanations of the fraud and his framing by political enemies, though completely innocent.
Unfortunately the autobiography does not extend to the period after discharge from prison when he successively went to South America and took charge of Chilean and Brazilian navies to assist them against the Spanish, and then the Greek navy to assist them against the Turks.
He was undoubtedly extraordinarily capable as a naval commander but one can well see how the Admiralty found him a problem.
This is the saga of an impecunious Lord whose Father spent the family money on inventing and attempting to exploit the same commercially. His lack of success forced the young Lord Cochrane to seek his fortune afloat in H.M.Royal Navy. He was clearly a man of above average ability and intelligence, but was dogged by the envy, greed and sheer bloody-mindedness of others, which resulted in a life more akin to that of an able lawyer than a ship's Captain in wartime (Napoleonic/Peninsula) Britain. A series of wartime exploits resulted in almost inevitable bad consequences -his prizes usually cost him money, which should not have been the case. People turned against him, and he was prosecuted and sentenced on more than one occasion.Needless to say his career was adversely affected One is left with the feeling that somehow-despite his explanations/protestations there was fire amid the smoke! His skill was in recovery of his honours and position against the clear animosity of The Establishment. The problem with an autobiography is there is no wise retrospective counsel to clarify the true position with all this smoke around! In short, you wonder about where the truth lies. That knowledge would provide catharsis,but nonetheless The Admiral is an interesting character, despite any personality issues and his life relevant some 200 years on. Corruption is still with us-we all are the worse for it, even if only for the anger it generates.
I wanted to read this because I'm a fan of Patrick O'Brian's series of books featuring the Aubrey/Maturin characters. I had read that he based much of the action in his books on the actual life of Admiral Lord Cochrane. When I began reading his autobiography I had no idea what a wonderful read was ahead of me. The language was so modern. I supposed for the year it was written and the fact that it was written by a man who lived during the Napoleonic period and the Crimean War, I expected something more difficult or at least more formal. Not so!
He wrote openly about his life, his successes, his trials and tribulations and the injustices he faced for not always following the rules when the rules would have resulted in defeat. His life was an adventure and he was a brave, bold man who took calculated risks that most seamen would have avoided. One of the most impressive things about those risks is that he did not risk the lives of his men carelessly. His casualty lists were low.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure stories. This man should never be forgotten!
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