Customer Reviews

Nelson's Battles: The Art of Victory in the Age of Sail

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"Nelson's Battles" is not a biography. The subtitle really says it all; "The Art of Victory in the Age of Sail". About half the book is devoted to discussing the navies of the Napoleonic Era and the technical aspects of combat and communications. The rest of the book examines Nelson's fleet battles: Cape St Vincent (where he was not in command, but was principally responsible for the British victory), the NIle, Copenhage, and of course Trafalgar. The writing is clear and interesting and the contemporary illustrations are excellent.

A good book, yes, even if doesn't tell anything I wanted to know. I would say it is a good introduction book. What I was hoping was to find accurate and comprehensive descriptions of Nelson's battles... They are well described, it is a fact, and there are beautiful reproductions of contemporary pictures, but good maps are cruelly lacking. For the least important battles there are a few modern maps, but for the three most important battles (Nile, Copenhague and Trafalgar) there are only reproductions of contemporary maps. Not that they are not good maps but they are too small and it is difficult to read the legends and they are only "static" maps. I would have hoped several maps showing several crucial steps of each battle.

For a better understanding of naval warfare in the sailing ship time, you should better read Keegan's book "The price of admiralty". The first chapter is devoted to Trafalgar but tells a lot more about this epoch.