A far-sighted war hero or an ambitious networker promoted above his talents? Deservedly celebrated as a naval officer and confidant of world leaders, nevertheless, for some, Mountbatten's talents remain questionable. In this timely new biography, Adrian Smith paints a different and convincing picture, of an essentially modern figure of a technocratic age, a nuts and bolts officer specialising in the technical branches of the Senior Service, and aristocrat perhaps, but devoted to professionalism and the lower deck. Smith brings Mountbatten to life and uncovers the essential qualities. Beneath the rich, aristocratic, pleasure-loving and privileged exterior there was a deeply human, even vulnerable but driven character -- and a pivotal figure in the imperial and military history of the twentieth century.
'Lord Louis Mountbatten is one of the most glittering yet mercurial figures of twentieth-century British history. Nobody was neutral about him. For some he was a far-sighted hero; for others he was an intellectual charlatan and a chancer. Adrian Smith gets us very close to the real Lord Louis, and the time is right for a reappraisal of his extraordinary trajectory across military, public and political life.' --Professor Peter Henessy, Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History, Queen Mary College, University of London