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 enormousOrient, 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 whatPatrick  O'Briancalled "the best naval battle of the millennium."Napoleon's Lost Fleetrecounts the story of the Battle of the  Nile and the underwater archaeological expedition to the remains of  theOrientin 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 Fleetis 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 andAubrey-Maturinfans will enjoy the anecdotes, maps, and salty narrative. Anglophiles  may wish to adopt an alternate title:Nelson Trounces the French,  Act 1.--Sunny Delaney