45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I prefer the British Title, "the Biography of a Battle" - much more illustratative I think, November 21, 2005
The british subtitled this book, "The biography of a battle" - which seems to much more accurately describes exactly what this book is - it treats the whole battle as a biography, allowing all the information to speak to build up a comprehensive picture of just what this battle meant - both in the lead up, and in the aftermath.
I would highly recommend this book to others who have not read much about sea battles of this period before. Adkins is enormously readable, his prose flows and is neatly interspersed with quotes of contemporarys both describing the battle, and everyday life where appropriate
The first part of the book is very much about the basics. There is a short introduction to Nelson's colourful life and career, a lot about the life and times of a seaman, and much useful information about life onboard ship in this period. Just what it was like to serve in the Nvy of George III. It was easy to understand the hardships and deprivation when reading this - the shortage of good food - which was generally maggoty or mouldy, or both. The smells from the lack of good sanitation, the terrible water which was unfiltered and stored in uncleaned barrels so that it soon became noxious and full of algae.
It was a hard life for anyone, and even Nelson did not touch land once for at least 2 years. The difference in life for officers and enlisted men was significant though. Conditions, food, clothing, position on board all played a significant role.
So the first part of this book sets the stage for the battle - it also dwells in excellent detail on the political situation, the pending Napoleonic invasion of Britain, the reaction, the blockades by British ships of French and Spanish ports, the lead up battles, such as that of the Nile, and so on.
The battle itself lasted but sixhours, and is discussed almost cannon blow by cannon blow. It is a confusing battle but Adkins is very clear with his detail and makes it enormously interesting. The aftermath of the battle, the messengers attempts to get to London, and the 'fruits' of trafalgar make up the last chapters.
It is a thoughtful book, written, I believe, with an eye on the novice reader. I did not find it talked-down to the reader though. Rather it used the social and military information as complimentary to the build up of the battle, as a reminder to the context it was fought in.
There are extremely useful illustrations and some maps in this to help the reader, they are easily referenced too
Overall I loved this book and will be recommending it to others. Given that we have just passed the 200th anniversary of it, it was published at a significant time and makes excellent reading.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The battle that changed the world, November 13, 2005
This is in the balance an excellent work of naval history and truly readable. It is a well-paced account of the pivotal naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars, where a British fleet commanded by Lord Horatio Nelson engaged the combined fleet of the Spanish and French near Cadiz. The British decisively defeated the Combined Fleet, effectively ending Napoleon's naval ambitions and any question of a cross-channel invasion of England. Trafalgar was the last great naval battle between fleets of sailing ships, and led the way to the British domination of the seas during the 19th century.
The book is a page-turning, captivating account of the actual mechanics of a sea battle with sailing ships. Adkins has considerable skill in making dramatic even the preparations before the battle - for instance noting the chilling but necessary sand strewn on decks for aiding footing in slippery blood. The combat itself he describes with a cinematic vitality, his details of the five hours of combat endured by sailors on both sides evokes a truly hellish stew of violent chaos, splinters, and smoke. A glimpse of this reality was recently portrayed in the movie Master and Commander, where two contemporary ships blast away at point blank range with shattering violence.
The book makes considerable use of first person accounts, but these are predominantly British, as is the perspective of the book. In describing the aspects of the sailing ships the English perspective is given, usually with an added comment that French and Spanish conditions were similar. The decisive difference was in the clearly superior skill and training of the British sailors and gunners. And that made the difference in the battle.
Which leads me to what I think is the books one flaw - the emphasis on Nelson himself seems considerably misplaced. The title "Nelson's Trafalgar" is simply not born out by the argument of the book. There was very little strategic thinking or command tactical control of the battle - the shape of the battle took place on Nelson's plan roughly as the shape of the letter "pi", with the English fleet making up the two legs colliding at a right angle to the French and dividing the latter into thirds. This was anticipated by the French admirals, and it is also unclear that this strategy gave the British any tactical advantage since the long range gunnery of the French and Spanish was so poor. Nelson's idea was to engage the combined fleet in a "pell mell" battle - in other words to create a situation where there was no tactical fleet control of the battle. Furthermore Nelson was mortally wounded at the outbreak of the battle. In these conditions the outcome of the battle was decided by the skill of the average British gunner. Adkin's comments in this regard are nuanced but he clearly is uncritical of the glowing mythology built around Nelson's "brilliance." He is better to listen to the commander of the French fleet's comment, which he quotes: "to any other Nation the loss of a Nelson would have been irreparable, but in the British Fleet of Cadiz, every captain was a Nelson."
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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Read!, August 18, 2005
I'm a big fan of Roy Adkins, having read his books on archaeology--which I treasure on my bookshelves. Adkins magnificently details this historic naval battle between the French and Spanish on the one side and the British on the other. Adkins not only gives a memorable overview of the battle, but he also takes the time to explain various aspects of life at the time on board ship, as well as the reasons leading to the battle. What is also a great surprise is that there was a huge storm afterwards, in which more far people lost their lives than in the battle itself. The author then goes on to recount how the news was brought to England after the battle and how it spread to the rest of the world. This is a very stirring and often sad story, much recommended.
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