The Trafalgar Companion: A Guide To History's Most Famous Sea Battle And The Life Of Admiral Lord Nelson - Hardcover

Adkin, Mark; Farmer, Clive

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1845130189 ISBN 13: 9781845130183

Publisher: Aurum Pr Ltd, 2005

Synopsis

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on October 21, 1805, off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast, between the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. The last great sea action of the period, it established British naval supremacy and ended the threat of French invasion. The Trafalgar Companion not only chronicles the campaign and the battle itself in unprecedented detail, but it also charts Admiral Lord Nelson’s life and career as well as his death at the height of the battle. Providing a wealth of background details on contemporary naval life, seamanship, gunnery, tactics, and much else, the narrative is supplemented by informative sidebars, 200 color illustrations, and stage-by-stage battle diagrams.

About this title

Reviews

On October 21, 1805, a British fleet led by Admiral Lord Nelson effectively crippled the combined fleets of Spain and France off of Spain's Cape Trafalgar—crushing Napoleon Bonaparte's dream of invading and conquering Britain. Despite suffering a mortal wound during the battle, Nelson secured his place in history with this victory, as well as ensuring Britain's century-long naval dominance of the Continent. Adkin, a former British army officer and the author of a comparable volume on Napoleon's last campaign, The Waterloo Companion, has compiled a fitting tribute to the historic action. This heavily illustrated encyclopedic volume is packed with "facts, figures, analyses [and] recollections" relating to the battle and Nelson's career. As such, it is two books in one—battle history and Nelson biography. There are sections detailing every conceivable aspect of nautical life in the 19th century—ships and seamanship, guns and tactics, command and control, et al.—and sidebars sprinkled throughout the narrative present anecdotes, vignettes and little-known facts. In addition to its encyclopedic coverage, the book is a visual feast with hundreds of detailed maps and diagrams and exquisite drawings. The two-page, colored drawings of many of the ships of both fleets—including Nelson's flagship, Victory—are stunning in their detail. Handsome and authoritative, this volume will give fans of naval history and warfare many hours of browsing pleasure. (Oct. 15)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Aurum Pr Ltd
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1845130189
• ISBN 13: 9781845130183
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 560