Maritime historian Reet Naber's study “Johan Pitka. For Fatherland with an Honest Will!” comes out richly illustrated in the “Known and Unknown” series for admiral Pitka's 140th birthday. It is the most substantial report yet of a man who already attained a half-mythical status in his own lifetime, and can be rightfully called nearly the only entirely positive hero in the (contemporary) history of Estonia.
Johan Pitka was one of the most moral and energetic people to fight for Estonia's economic and political independence. Over decades he won battles in newspapers, committees, and battlefields. In Pitka, a great visionary, a man of action, and a leader come together in a rare way creating a life filled with passion, battle, and paradoxes.
Reet Naber concentrates in her Pitka's biography meticulously on the years between 1907 and 1917 that have not been previously thoroughly studied or written about. In that period Estonians' national awareness was on a new rise, parties and societies were being created, and the economic climate was improving, in which Pitka had a big role to play as a maritime theoretician and a leader.