Customer Reviews
Good but could have been better - By: Mr. Paul J. Skeates, 30 Aug 2007 
Although I finished this book with more knowledge on Wellington than I had at the start, I felt the book dwelt too much on detailed descriptions of military encounters, rather than giving me an insight into the man himself. Whilst I accept that his battle field encounters did much to shape his character, there is just too little about his domestic life, the relationship he had with wife & children, the reasoning behind his marriage & its failure, & his subsequent lifein retirement.
Whilst accepting & understanding that Richard Holmes is a brilliant military historian, & this is his sphere of knowledge, a bit more was needed on non military matters.
An enjoyable biography, but a bit irritating! - By: Geoffrey Woollard, 22 Aug 2007 Richard Holmes is an eminent historian & a splendid TV presenter but, though I found his study of the great Duke of Wellington an enjoyable biography that I couldn't put down until it was finished, I also found myself being irritated on too many of the 303 pages by mis-spellings & stylistic & punctuation inconsistencies. An example of the latter was the mixed & varying use of inverted commas (quote marks). My own preference is for the end of a phrase or a sentence to appear thus: '................... end,' or '..................... end.' Too often the style was thus '........................ end', or '........................... end'. Mr Holmes ought to have made up his mind which way his work was to appear or his editor ought to have been sacked!
Another niggle was that the Duke's Hampshire home was named only once as 'Strathfieldsaye,' with '[sic]' to follow. Mr Holmes should have been aware that that was the original spelling & that 'Stratfield Saye' is the more modern name of the house & estate.
I mustn't criticise too much, however, because I learned a lot from a very good book & I recommend it to other lovers of our British history & other admirers of one of the greatest & most courageous Britons ever to have been born.
Wellington - By: Spider Monkey, 13 Jun 2006 
This is probably the best book on Wellington you are likely to read. It is clear to read & full of detail. It covers Wellingtons military career, as well as his relationships & public life. The author obviously admires Wellington, but not to the extent where he is totally biased & cannot give an objective view. This is a fascinating read about a great military leader. Recommended.
wellington made easy - By: , 12 Jan 2006 This book definately deserves 5 starsin my opinion, but only if we take it for what it is; a good general history of the man & his life.
A comparisonin thickness with Elizabeth Longford's two volume classic clearly indicates that Holmes' book can't be exhaustive, but this isin no way a criticismin itself. In fact I would say that it is one of the book's strongest points. Wellington, the Iron Duke is extremely readable, almost addictivein the way only a great novel can be, but without recourse to dumbing down. Holmes manages to recount the Duke's life & deeds both on & off the battle field with enough detail to inform, yet without becoming boring or pedantic. Here we see not only the Iron willed disciplinarian but also the man who cried when he saw the slaughter of Badajoz. He also endevors to give a more balanced assessment of the contextin which Wellington lived & foughtin battle &in parliament than has often been done (particulary with reference to the peninsula) & allows us to see how Wellington's experiences & background helped to shape his world view.
In short Richard Holmes seems to be that rare animal: an academic who can really write & communicate with readers. Wellington, The Iron Duke may not be adequate for hisorical researchers, but it's certainly an excellent & informative read for the rest of us with an interestin the man & his world.
Non qualified historian - By: , 07 Aug 2004 A brilliant book. Made me look forward to getting on the commuter trains from London Bridge & Paddington so I could read the next few chapters. if that comes out has been a popularist then good because i didn't see any of the TV programmes but enjoyed the book!
One really minor criticism, which is probably very pedantic, is that many dates are quoted as day & month without the year. So I had to refer back to know which year we were talking about.
Other than that the simply conclusion is buy & read it if you have any interestin Wellington & his period.
