Hailed by the New York Times as "entertaining as well as valuable," this two-volume biography examines the life of "the hero of Waterloo." This engaging portrait perfectly captures the life story of this legendary officer. In volume one, Maxwell begins the exhaustive chronicling of Wellington's life by covering the time period from Arthur Wellesley's birth in 1769, his boyhood, entry into the army, and service—all the way through his knighthood, warring with France, and his grant of Dukedom, to the year 1815.