Napoleon's Lost Fleet: Bonaparte, Nelson, and the Battle of the Nile

On August 1, 1798, Admiral Horatio Nelson and the British navy sailed into Abukir Bay, Egypt. After months of searching the Mediterranean Sea, Nelson finally had the French fleet cornered. Disregarding naval convention, Nelson readied his fleet for battle even though it was nearing evening. By the end of the next day, the French fleet was in tatters and Napoleon's flagship, the enormous Orient, had exploded with such fury that fewer than 100 of the 1,000 or so men aboard her survived. Nelson and his "Band of Brothers" had achieved a spectacular victory in what Patrick O'Brian called "the best naval battle of the millennium."

Napoleon's Lost Fleet recounts the story of the Battle of the Nile and the underwater archaeological expedition to the remains of the Orient in Abukir Bay. Lavishly illustrated, full of informative sidebars, the book careens around from topic to topic like Nelson chasing the French fleet around the Mediterranean--highlighting Napoleon, Josephine, Egyptian art, naval life, Nelson, and even Emma Hamilton. Short shrift is given to the valiant Comte de Brueys, the French admiral, who dreaded meeting the English fleet but was stranded waiting for orders from Napoleon--100 miles away in Cairo. Those caveats aside, Napoleon's Lost Fleet is a remarkably handsome volume, and the history--though haphazardly presented--is sound and accessible. Naval historians will find little new here, but armchair sea dogs and Aubrey-Maturin fans will enjoy the anecdotes, maps, and salty narrative. Anglophiles may wish to adopt an alternate title: Nelson Trounces the French, Act 1. --Sunny Delaney