Lisa (Harmony)

I've been a fan of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series since pointed to them as a teen by a classmate. They're wonderful yarns about the days of sail focusing on a character akin to Horatio Nelson and the inspiration for Captain Kirk of Star Trek, Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe, Weber's Honor Harrington and more. So I think this should be in every fans collection--particularly those interested in the writing process. In it Forester gives you a peak at such things as the reason Lieutenant Hornblower is told from Lt. Bush's point of view or the origins of tales such as "The Even Chance" in Midshipman Hornblower. And Forester is a warm and engaging presence--not always the case in memoirs were the writer can be inadvertently self-revealings in off-putting ways. And I loved the maps. :-)