Ernle Bradford – författare

An impressively accessible narrative depicting the three-day battle for the pass at Thermopylae (the Hot Gates)- a critical contest in Xerxes's massive invasion of Greece. The bloody stand made there by Leonidas and his small Spartan army in 480 B.C. has been hailed ever since as an outstanding example of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice.

The captivating biography of Prince Henry of Portugal, the navigator and explorer who helped usher in the Age of Discovery.   Before Columbus, Vespucci, and Sir Francis Drake, there was Henry the Navigator. Pirate hunter, intrepid explorer, and ship designer, the Portuguese prince was one of the great innovators who pioneered the Age of Discovery. In an effort to locate the mythic kingdom of Prester John, Prince Henry organized voyages into the Southern Atlantic and developed a new kind of ship, the caravel, specifically for the task. His explorations yielded riches and fame for Portugal, as well as the discovery of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Yet the scope of his contribution to the world is often overshadowed by other figures.   In this expertly researched biography, Ernle Bradford brings to light the captivating tale of a pioneer who initiated an era of exploration and forever changed the course of history.  

The “outstanding” biography of the Italian navigator and explorer from the bestselling author of The Great Siege (The New York Times). Christopher Columbus, credited with discovering America in 1492, was a great explorer who forever changed the world—but his iconic image obscures a far more complex and fascinating life story. Born Cristoforo Colombo, the son of a weaver from Genoa, he renounced his father’s trade early in life and took to sailing. Though he began in the Mediterranean, Columbus soon found employment sailing the Atlantic Ocean, where he experienced shipwreck, inclement weather, and perhaps the Norse legends of uncharted lands to the west.   With the help of Florentine astronomer Paolo Toscanelli, who in turn based his theories on the works of Marco Polo, Columbus devised a plan to find a western passage to the Indies. Though he achieved something far greater—the discovery of a hemisphere previously unknown to Europeans—Columbus insisted to the end of his days that he had succeeded. In this engrossing and deeply researched biography, historian Ernle Bradford portrays Columbus’s stubbornness and greed, as well as his genius, bravery, and masterly navigation skills.

The authoritative biography of British explorer Sir Francis Drake, from the bestselling author of The Great Siege.   Long considered one of the great heroes of British history, Sir Francis Drake was a brilliant navigator, intrepid explorer, and fearsome warrior in Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Navy. He was also a pirate and profiteer who made a small fortune trading slaves. In this compelling biography, Ernle Brandford offers an unvarnished and finely detailed portrait of this complex and influential man.   Born to impoverished parents in Devon, Drake rose to power by his own efforts. In his most famous expedition, he sailed around South America through the Strait of Magellan, opening new trade routes for Great Britain. Continuing across the Pacific and around the tip of Africa, he became the first Englishman to sail around the world. Drake also played a key role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada when England was threatened with invasion in 1588. Vastly outnumbered, he led raids into Spanish ports, destroying dozens of ships. But while tales of his exploits have been told for generations, few authors have approached the story of his life with as much depth, authority, and honesty as Bradford.

Since ships first set sail in the Mediterranean, The Rock has been the gate of Fortress Europe. In ancient times, it was known as one of the Pillars of Hercules, and a glance at its formidable mass suggests that it may well have been created by the gods. Sought after by every nation with territorial ambitions in Europe, Asia, and Africa, Gibraltar was possessed by the Arabs, the Spanish, and ultimately the British, who captured it in the early 1700s and held onto it in a siege of more than three years late in the eighteenth century. The fact that that was one of more than a dozen sieges exemplifies Gibraltar’s quintessential value as a prize and the desperation of governments to fly their flag above its forbidding ramparts. Bradford uses his matchless skill and knowledge to take the reader through the history of this great and unique fortress. From its geological creation to its two-thousand-year influence on politics and war, he crafts the compelling tale of how these few square miles played a major part in history.

The life of the great military commander of ancient Carthage from the bestselling author of Thermopylae and Gibraltar.   Born in Carthage in 247 BC, Hannibal Barca is considered one of the greatest military commanders of all time. Following the example set by his father, Hamilcar, he dedicated his life to the defeat of Rome. At the outbreak of the Second Punic War, Hannibal famously led an army across the Pyrenees and the Alps to victory against the Romans at the Battle of Trebia. In the years that followed, Hannibal led the Carthaginian war on Rome through some of the most brutal and costly battles in recorded history.   In this richly detailed biography, Ernle Bradford tells the story of a great leader whose military strategies have been studied and copied by commanders throughout history, from his own Roman enemies to Napoleon Bonaparte.  

The epic life story of the Roman statesman, military commander, and dictator, from the bestselling author of Thermopylae.   Born to Roman aristocracy in 100 BC, Julius Caesar became one of the most powerful men in history. He was a military genius, a fierce politician, and a brilliant writer and orator. When he formed an alliance with Pompey and Crassus, the triumvirate of officials took control of the Roman Republic. But Caesar’s quest for power was only beginning.   As proconsul, he went to war against the Gallic tribes of the north, extending Roman territory into Gaul, Belgium, Germany, and Britain. When the Gallic Wars ended, the Roman senate called on Caesar to return to private life. But rather than relinquish his title, Caesar led his legion into a civil war that would spell the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.   In this thrilling and thoroughly researched biography, Ernle Bradford cuts through the legends in order to present a truthful and nuanced portrait of a man whose pursuit of power knew no bounds.

A gripping biography of Admiral Nelson, Napoleonic War hero and one of Britain’s greatest naval tacticians. In the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson sent the signal from his flagship HMS Victory, “England expects that every man will do his duty.” His defeat of the French that day in 1805 was a decisive turning point in the Napoleonic Wars, establishing British control of the seas. His death in that heroic battle gave those words immortal significance.   For his bravery in battle and brilliance as a naval tactician, Admiral Nelson remains one of Britain’s most inspiring heroes. In this nuanced and lively biography, Ernle Bradford presents the man behind the legend. From his youthful days in the Royal Navy to his famous battles and scandalous personal life, Horatio Nelson is shown here in all his human complexity.   “This skillful portrait . . . combines accessible naval history with a psychological examination of heroism.” —Kirkus Reviews  

The indispensable account of the Ottoman Empire’s Siege of Malta from the author of Hannibal and Gibraltar. In the first half of the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was thought to be invincible. Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman sultan, had expanded his empire from western Asia to southeastern Europe and North Africa. To secure control of the Mediterranean between these territories and launch an offensive into western Europe, Suleiman needed the small but strategically crucial island of Malta. But Suleiman’s attempt to take the island from the Holy Roman Empire’s Knights of St. John would emerge as one of the most famous and brutal military defeats in history. Forty-two years earlier, Suleiman had been victorious against the Knights of St. John when he drove them out of their island fortress at Rhodes. Believing he would repeat this victory, the sultan sent an armada to Malta. When they captured Fort St. Elmo, the Ottoman forces ruthlessly took no prisoners. The Roman grand master La Vallette responded by having his Ottoman captives beheaded. Then the battle for Malta began in earnest: no quarter asked, none given. Ernle Bradford’s compelling and thoroughly researched account of the Great Siege of Malta recalls not just an epic battle, but a clash of civilizations unlike anything since the time of Alexander the Great. It is “a superior, readable treatment of an important but little-discussed epic from the Renaissance past . . . An astonishing tale” (Kirkus Reviews).

A memoir of life as an adventurer and sailor in the Mediterranean, by the noted naval historian.   Ernle Bradford spent his twenty-first birthday in Egypt, serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. It was there that he came across the profoundly affecting words of Anton Chekhov: “Life does not come again; if you have not lived during the days that were given to you, once only, then write it down as lost.”   After the war, Bradford married and settled in London, but the mandate of those words inspired him and his wife to quit their jobs, sell their home, and sail to France in their small ship Mother Goose. The Journeying Moon chronicles their adventures as they travel through Europe and the Mediterranean. From the people of Malta who believed Bradford was a spy from MI5, to his interactions with the Sicilian Mafia, Bradford tells the charming and vivid tale of his days as a true adventurer.

An account of the ancient battle between Persia and the alliance of Greek city-states, including the legendary “300 Spartans.” In 480 BCE, Persian king Xerxes led a massive invasion of Greece. A critical point in this invasion was the battle for the pass at Thermopylae—“Hot Gates” in Greek. Xerxes had amassed one of the largest armies yet known to man, while Leonidas’s troops, a group of united Spartans, Thespians, Thebans, and others, including slaves, were a small fraction of the Persian horde.   Despite the overwhelming odds, Leonidas and his men stood their ground for three days in a historic display of patriotism and courage. In Thermopylae: Battle for the West, acclaimed author Ernle Bradford covers the entire era of the invasion—from the foundation of the Persian empire to the accession of Darius all the way to the final, bloody battles—in a fascinating and accessible look at warfare in ancient times.  

The bestselling author of The Journeying Moon explores the history and culture of Sicily in this colorful travel memoir. In his memoir The Journeying Moon, historian Ernle Bradford recounts the call to adventure that brought him and his wife, Janet, to a life on the sea. Continuing their adventures aboard the Mother Goose, Bradford and Janet now voyage around the island of Sicily, where the couple explores the land and learns its captivating history.   Home to ancient temple ruins, charming villages, and Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, Sicily provides the perfect backdrop for this tale of exploration and wonder. In a model travel narrative, Bradford captures the sights, sounds, and flavors of Sicily in his lively portrayal of an excursion across an ancient and extraordinary island, a part of Italy and yet a world unto itself.

An engrossing chronicle of the Fourth Crusade and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, from the bestselling author of Thermopylae. At the dawn of the thirteenth century, Constantinople stood as the bastion of Christianity in Eastern Europe. The capital city of the Byzantine Empire, it was a center of art, culture, and commerce that had commanded trading routes between Asia, Russia, and Europe for hundreds of years. But in 1204, the city suffered a devastating attack that would spell the end of the Holy Roman Empire.   The army of the Fourth Crusade had set out to reclaim Jerusalem, but under the sway of their Venetian patrons, the crusaders diverted from their path in order to lay siege to Constantinople. With longstanding tensions between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, the crusaders set arms against their Christian neighbors, destroying a vital alliance between Eastern and Western Rome.   In The Great Betrayal, historian Ernle Bradford brings to life this powerful tale of envy and greed, demonstrating the far-reaching consequences this siege would have across Europe for centuries to come.

The evolution of the battleship through centuries of war, told by a nautical expert and author of The Mighty Hood.   During its reign from the sixteenth century to the mid-twentieth, the battleship was the most powerful weapon of war known to man. Strategically, it determined a war’s outcome. Tactically, it dominated every sea battle. But at the Battle of Taranto in 1940 and the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, carrier-borne aircraft made a decisive display of superiority over the once-mighty battleship. Thus World War II heralded the end of the era of The Great Ship.   In The Great Ship, noted naval historian Ernle Bradford traces the evolution of battleships through centuries of conflict and innovation. Selecting one or two ships from each period, Bradford illustrates their use in action and the significant roles they played in the course of history.

The story of the HMS Hood, the last great warship of the British Royal Navy, told by the bestselling author of Hannibal. When it was launched in 1918, the HMS Hood was the flagship of the Royal Navy. As a battle cruiser, “The Mighty Hood” was fast enough to evade enemy cruiser ships and powerful enough to destroy them. But for all the Hood’s might, it had one fatal flaw: armor had been sacrificed for speed.   In 1941, the Hood confronted the legendary German warship Bismarck. A salvo from the enemy penetrated the Hood’s ammunition magazine, destroying the British ship and killing all but three of its crew. The brutal defeat marked the end of the Royal Navy’s dominance. But it also inspired Winston Churchill’s vow to sink the Bismarck—a vow that in time was fulfilled.   Through oral history and documentary research, Ernle Bradford chronicles the Hood’s career from design to demise, with colorful insight into life aboard the ship as well as its broader historical significance.

The life of the first-century man born Saul of Tarsus, who went on to become Paul the Apostle, by the acclaimed historian and author of Thermopylae. Paul, born into Asia Minor’s Jewish aristocracy and a passionate student of scripture, was part of the crowd that killed Stephen, a deacon regarded as the first Christian martyr. But on the road to Damascus, Paul experienced a miracle that would change his life and in turn change history. His conversion left him convinced that his true master was the man who would come to be known as Jesus Christ. Drawing on his vast command of ancient history and blending it with superb storytelling skills, author Ernle Bradford weaves a tale that takes the reader from city to city as Paul spreads the teachings of Christ despite being beaten, stoned, and shipwrecked. It’s a thrilling tale and stirring biography of a man whose devotion and rhetorical genius laid the groundwork for the religion that soon swept the civilized world. Written by a historian known for immersing himself in his subjects, which range from the ancient world to World War II, this is a fascinating look at the convert who helped shape Christianity as a worldwide force.  

An authoritative history of the Knights of St. John, from Jerusalem to Malta, told by the bestselling author of The Great Siege. Known by many names through their centuries-long career, The Knights Hospitaller of Saint John dedicated themselves to defending the poor and sick. First formed in Jerusalem during the Crusades of the eleventh century, the Order of Saint John grew in wealth and power rivaled only by the Knights Templar. They survived exile from the Holy Land, settling first in Rhodes and then in Malta, which they famously defended against the Ottoman Empire’s epic invasion of 1565. Even after losing Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte two centuries later, the Order of Saint John continued its mission.   Ernle Bradford, whose bestselling book The Great Siege recounts their historic battle for Malta, follows the Knights of Saint John through centuries of war, politics, rivalry, and perseverance in The Shield and the Sword.