Columbia Trading Company NAUTICAL BOOKS
Nelson's Battles: The Art of Victory in the Age of Sail, by Nicholas Tracy (Chatham Publishing, London/Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1996, 224pp, illus, notes, appen, index, ISBN 1-55750-621-3; $39.95hc) When yet another book emerges about a subject of such ongoing literary attention as Vice Admiral Lord Nelson , one may feel a ho-hum reaction. That would be a mistake in this instance. Nicholas Tracy 's book is not only good reading, it adds important perspective---often mi ssing in other works-to Nelson the man and Nelson 'the naval combat leader. The book also deals with issues of naval tactics and geopolitical strategy that transcend Nelson. The author, a member of the History Department of Canada's University of New Brunswick, writes with a welcome understanding that the achievements of a man like Nelson are not accomplished out of context with his time. In the opening sections of the book, Tracy leads up to the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen and Trafalgar with discussions of how 18th-century British politics were influenced by mercantilism and dependent upon sea power. The early and middle chapters of the book describe the evolution of naval doctrine and the technology of sea warfare leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar. Appropriate Iy, the author devotes the latter quarter of the book to the pinnacle of Nelson's career, Trafalgar, and that battle's aftermath. In those pages, Tracy provides a series of vignettes, linked by historical narrative, that create a threedimensional image of the Nelson persona that contrasts sharply with the twodimensional picture of the man so often presented in print. To our benefit, Tracy spends more time on the storm that followed the battle than most authors. As he does with the battle, he relies heavily on quotations from those who experienced the event first hand. The author's appreciation for the intense drama of fighting a major storm at sea reveals his own background as a serious yachtsman. In the book's last chapter, "Nelson 's Legacy," a main point made by the author is open to debate. He suggests that it was Nelson's "humane methods of command," and not his tactics at Trafalgar, that were his most important legacy. The difficulty with that conclusion is that it appears to ignore so much of what is described earlier in the book. SEA HISTORY 80, WINTER 1996-97
For example, based on the book's excellent descriptions of the evolution of preNelson naval strategy and tactics, his genius for combining doctrine with innovations matched to immediate circumstances was a legacy of at least equal importance for those dedicated to winning in combat. Still another strong argument can be made that Nelson 's most important legacy was the fact that he created a heightened political-and popular-appreciation for the strategic relevance of sea power. However, differences of opinion about Nelson are part of his appeal, and this author's book is interesting reading and a valuable reference work. And appropriately, it appears at the beginning of the Nelson Decade, which is being celebrated in Britain in anticipation of the 200th anniversary of Nelson 's stunning victory at Trafalgar in October 1805. JOSEPH F. CALLO Kansas City, Missouri The Voyage of HMS Herald to Australia and the South-west Pacific 18521861 under the Command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham, by Andrew David (Melbourne University Press, Victoria, Australia, 1995, 547pp, illus , appen, notes , biblio, index, ISBN 0522-84390-5; $69.95hc) Available from Paul & Company, PO Box 442 , Concord MA 01742; 508 369-3049. The word Vigia, from the Spanish or Portuguese for lookout, often appears on early sea charts as a warning to denote dangerous shoals or rocks. Even in the mid-1800s, vigias were noted repeatedly on charts of the Southwest Pacific where hidden reefs remained the chief hazard to navigation. Concerned with the importance of safe sea lanes to the prosperity of the colonies in Australia and New Zealand and the expansion of British influence in areas around the Coral Sea, Sir Francis Beaufort dispatched HMS Herald in 1852 to survey and chart the area "between Australia and Fiji." To lead the expedition, Beaufort chose a distinguished hydrographic surveyor, Captain Henry Mangles Denham, instructing him to make the sea lanes as safe as possible for navigation and to "continue on this service until you receive further orders from us. " Additional orders followed to chart other areas of the Coral Sea, but the order to return to England was not given until Denham and his crew had completed nine years of continuous survey duty!
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