A few years before the outbreak of the American Revolution, a frail, twelve-year-old boy boarded an English ship to begin a career in the British Navy, a career in which he would distinguish himself and be called Britain's greatest naval hero.

Whether aboard a frigate, a ship of the line, or a converted merchantman, hardship and peril were part of a day's work at sea in those days of sailing ships.

Horation Nelson was a man of indomitable spirit who grew in stature as a naval strategist until, among, other things, he kept Napoleon from gaining control of the Channel and making England a province of France.

From the book

Note: This book was first published in England in 1958. The American edition was published through the courtesy of Frederick Muller Limited.