Cochrane: The Real Master And Commander -- by David Cordingly

 

For me, there was too much punctuation at the end: almost as soon as I finished reading David Cordingly's Cochrane: The Real Master And Commander, I had to enter the throes of a colonoscopy. That ended the reading, and the week, in a weird way.

Cordingly is a fantastic writer, and teacher. He ably ventured beyond the normal expectations of a mostly successful Napoleonic-era British naval commander, leading the reader into the UK politics, and the social settings. I was fascinated that Cochrane, and other still-serving military officers, sometimes held political office. Cochrane served in Parliament in England, despite being a native Scot It was a very different world.

Cordingly's historical writing bordered on news reporting, with some feature writing artistically added in. Cordingly, 84, is better recognized in the UK than he is here, and that's a shame.

Cochrane's faults, initiative, solid instincts, and tenacity were all on display here. He was not a perfect hero, but he was that in part because of the courage he had when confronted by obvious wrongs. Some of his anti-establishment stands hindered his naval career, but he generally stuck to his guns.

Besides having plenty to do with eventually defeating Napoleon, who had labeled Cochrane "The Sea Wolf" for capturing many ships, and conducting numerous successful coastal raids, he helped set the world free. Cochrane, out of the Royal Navy, helped liberate Chile and Peru from Spain, and Brazil from Portugal, before lending his experience in The Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Cordingly nicely followed Cochrane's personal life, his money dealings, and smaller items often ignored by other writers. Several fictional characters have come out of the eventful life of Thomas Cochrane, such as C.F. Forester's Horatio Hornblower, and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey. Obviously, there's much to say about these people in this time, and a historian who can write -- like Cordingly -- brilliantly illuminates what's worth reading.

An easy five stars.