Wellington The Iron Duke

In this compelling book, Richard Holmes charts the life of the Duke of Wellington, Britain's greatest-ever soldier. He follows Wellington's remarkable career from the ruins of his family seat in Ireland to the plains of India where Wellesley first gained his reputation as a brilliant commander, to the horrors of the Peninsular War and Waterloo. Holmes sees Wellington as a brilliant figure, idealistic in politics, cynical in love, a wit, a beau, a man of enormous courage and iron duty often sickened by the horrors of war.