This is an auction for TRAFALGAR: COUNTDOWN TO BATTLE 1803-1805, by Alan Schom.

This is a *** SIGNED *** copy.

Amazon.com review:

“Early on the morning of October 21st, 1805, the British Fleet, commanded by Admiral Lord Nelson, encountered the French navy a few miles off the Spanish coast near Cape Trafalgar. As it became clear that a fight was inevitable, the French and English ships drew into battle formation. Aboard his flagship Victory, Nelson offered his famous laconic signal to his seamen - "England expects that every man will do his duty" - and gave the order to fire. After over six hours of bloody exchanges the British had achieved an overwhelming victory, Nelson - his fame assured for the ages - lay dead from a sniper's bullet, and Napoleon's dreams of an invasion of England were dashed. Because of its dramatic nature - the one-sidedness of the British victory, Nelson's death at the very moment of triumph - Trafalgar has often been viewed as an isolated feat on the part of the great English commander. But, as Alan Schom shows, this apocalyptic showdown was actually the result of a strategy laid out by the British Admiralty two years earlier, when Napoleon issued orders for the creation of what would have become the largest army flotilla ever before assembled. The Emperor's aim was to invade the British Isles with a force of over 167,000 men conveyed aboard nearly 2400 vessels. His plan was successfully thwarted not because of the tactical genius of Lord Nelson on a single day of battle, but rather because of the brilliant strategy and remarkable perseverance of the hitherto unsung hero Admiral Sir William Cornwallis.”

Very favourable reviews on Amazon.com.

Hardback 1990.

421 pages.

24 pages of illustrations.

Good condition.

There is of course no charge for shipping if you collect this book from my shop in Palmerston North following the auction.

Payment within seven days, please.