“You can almost smell the whiff of gunsmoke and feel the sweat as the battle begins. This is history with a page-turning quality.”

Good Book Guide

“Recreates the terrible tension and uncertainty of the naval campaign that led to the most famous sea fight in history. His original research draws on a wide range of eyewitnesses to craft a gripping minute-by-minute account.”

Cambridgeshire Journal

“Rattles along excitingly... the battle is grippingly described with a Master and Commander/Patrick O'Brian touch.”

Daily Mail

“Nicholas Best uses eyewitness accounts to recreate the tension and uncertainty of the campaign that led to the battle, and to describe the carnage and the glory of Trafalgar itself.”

Church Today

“This gripping book tells the story of Britain's legendary naval victory on October 21, 1905 in which the national hero, Admiral Lord Nelson, was killed by a French sharpshooter... Nicholas Best has done an excellent job describing the build up to the Battle and the primitive conditions on the ships... This book is replete with fascinating details.”

Glasgow Evening Times

“None are likely to be more comprehensive or gripping than this one, which describes the Royal Navy's triumph over the French which effectively scuppered Napoleon's threat to invade Britain... He is unsparing in his details of the bloodshed wrought by cannons and cutlass wielding seamen who boarded the shattered ships.”

Birmingham Post

“Trafalgar was not only a great sea battle, it saved Britain from invasion by Napoleon. That is why this book, which rattles along excitingly, gave me fresh appetite for the subject. It sets Nelson's victory in context - the risks of 1940 were just as grave in 1805.... Nicholas Best's racy account of the prelude to the sea battle makes one realise how risky sea warfare was under sail.”

Daily Mail