It must be amongst the most important and lasting contributions to the Trafalgar bicentenary.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of MARITIME HISTORY

A powerful contribution to the bicentenary literature. […] These letters reveal the reality of genius in action.
ARCHIVES, XXXI, 2006 (Andrew Lambert)

Striking....revealing....gives a sharp insight....[the] letters give a distinct sense of how Nelson was able to inspire so high a degree of loyalty and devotion.....this is a work very much for scholars. MARINER'S MIRROR

Colin White...successfully reminds us why the memory of Nelson and his achievements has endured.
THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

Standing far above the bicentenary fanfare...White has significantly added to our understanding of Nelson's tempestuous personality. THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
 

Nelson's character and conduct, his tactical ideas and strategic insight emerge from his correspondence, in essence in the form of autobiography.....White has served his subject well.
COUNTRY LIFE

In Nelson - the new letters Colin White has brought to life a treasure-trove of 1,200 letters, creating a virtual Nelson autobiography. SEAFARER, the Journal of the Marine Society

Five years in the making the new letters of Nelson are instantly captivating....together [they] form a narrative of Nelson's life in his own vivid words.
The Norfolk Journal and East Anglian Life

[An] important addition to the printed Nelson sources [by] perhaps the best-known “Nelsonian” of our day. […] White’s volume includes a large number of informal orders which [show] us a leader who knew how to share his ideas on paper as well as in person. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

Outstandingly good. THE GUARDIAN

The single most significant advance of our appreciation of Nelson for many years.
THE NAVAL REVIEW

In so far as Admiral Nelson has a representative on earth it is ColinWhite. […] This fine collection…brings the reader into Nelson's mind and world in a way that works surprisingly well…these letters prove Horatio Nelson was an inspired writer [and] could scarcely write a dull sentence.
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

There is much fresh evidence here to illustrate Nelson's virtuosity as a leader.
INDEPENDENT

Impressively wide-ranging.... A Nelson fan's delight and a welcome addition.
DAILY EXPRESS

In Trafalgar's bicentennial year, there have been several Nelson biographies, but no book about this authentic English hero could surpass the fascination of Nelson's own words...faithfully edited by one of our pre-eminent naval scholars, this compulsive volume paints a picture of the man in all his astonishing complexity.
Robert McCrum, THE OBSERVER

Riveting. The admiral that emerges is open, engaged, alive; he writes as
one imagines he spoke.
THE ECONOMIST

They are coruscatingly vivid letters, alive with bright expressiveness. [...] On important matters, he writes with gripping verve; the letters giving accounts of engagements, especially those to the Duke of Clarence, are extraordinarily exciting. [...] This is an important addition which the general reader shouldn't overlook.
SPECTATOR

Adds a new dimension. [...] This is the closest we will ever get to reading Horatio Nelson's autobiography.
EASTERN DAILY PRESS