The princely sailor
Subtitle: Mountbatten of Burma
By: by Sir Ian McGeoch.
Edition: 1st English ed.
Series: Brassey's biographies
Publisher: Brassey's
Published: 1996
Place of publication: London; Washington
Language: eng
Number of pages: 285
Subjects: Mountbatten of Burma, Louis Mountbatten, Earl, 1900-1979.; Nobility -- Great Britain -- Biography.; Admirals -- Great Britain -- Biography.; Viceroys -- India -- Biography.; Great Britain -- History, Naval -- 20th century.
Description: The name Mountbatten resonates through the history of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Born in 1900 as Prince Louis of Battenberg, a great grandson of Queen Victoria, Louis Mountbatten's life was at first shaped by the First World War and its aftermath; in mid-career he was a victorious commander in the Second World War; and when peace came he brought independence to India and Pakistan.

Mountbatten took for granted the unique social status accorded to members of the British Royal Family, even in the century of the common man. However, as an officer in the Royal Navy, from naval cadet to Admiral of the Fleet, he was above all a professional.

In his final years of active service, Mountbatten brought into being the Central Organisation for Defence which, despite imperfection, has functioned well; and the wisdom of his advice on cardinal issues of peace and security has been widely recognised.

Mountbatten remains a controversial figure, even though his faults, when considered in the light of the world shaking events in which he was involved, are overwhelmingly outweighed by his achievements. His murder, and those of members of his family and a friend, on 27 August 1979, by assassins of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, shocked the world.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.265-273) and index.