In February 1793 France declared war on Britain and Holland and by 1815, established dynasties and kingdoms were overthrown, the United States had been established as a world power and a new age was dawning. This was to be the longest, hardest and cruellest war ever fought at sea and while the war on land saw the rise of the greatest soldier ever known - Napoleon Buonaparte - the war at sea had the formidable genius of Horatio Nelson. In The Line Upon A Wind, Noel Mostert has achieved a work of unparalleled research and illuminating analysis. He has also brought us the story of the daily lives of the sailors on board the fighting ships. There are heroes and villains, captains so harsh that crews were goaded to mutiny and others whose concern for the welfare of their crews changed life at sea forever. It is a tale of ordinary men and extraordinary bravery, of the building and navigation of fearsome warships and of a period of tumultuous conflict, change and innovation - maritime history at its very best.