Fisher's Face, by Jan Morris (Penguin, £7.50 in UK)

Lord Fisher ("Jacky" to friends and enemies, of whom he had many) was the English equivalent to Germany's Admiral Tirpitz, a central figure in the race for naval supremacy in the years leading up to the first World War. He was arrogant, abrasive and a man who got things done, though the ease with which the British battle cruisers blew up at Jutland was a reflection both on him and on his close professional ally, Churchill. An excellent subject potentially, but somehow Jan Morris's portrait lacks real solidity and is also rather sketchy in its depiction of the complex European politics and power games of the time.