Review: Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World

Nelson's Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World by Roy A. Adkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an odd choice for me, I have to admit. Well, not the naval history nor necessarily the British navy, but it is quite early. I'm not especially interested in the 18th and 19th centuries and wooden ships are not especially interested for me. But, well, Trafalgar is Trafalgar, so I thought I'd try.

Adkin's book is an exciting read, based as it is both on the official reports of the battle and its leadup, but also on journals and an excellent understanding of the social history of the era. In fact, I'd say that the latter was the most interesting for me because Adkins does a really good job in giving a sense of what it was like on these wooden men-of-war, from basic living conditions to how they are fought. The result is a book which isn't just an account of a rather messy battle, but giving a vivid sense of warfare in this age (which, like any warfare, is horrific in its own particular way).

And, of course, Nelson looms large over the narrative. One can't really escape Nelson, of course, at Trafalgar and it was interesting to have a look at his biography again. I'm not sure Adkins fully makes Nelson feel human-there is still a lot of idolizing to cut through in the sources. But the picture is more 3D than most treatments.

This is a fascinating book of a fascinating episode in the history of European imperialisms. Trafalgar is still an icon for the British and still studied because of that. This book is a good contribution to that study.

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