The War for All the Oceans: From Nelson at the Nile to Napoleon at Waterloo - Roy & Lesley Adkins Audiobook

Written by Roy & Lesley Adkins
Read by Patrick Lawlor
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 32 Kbps
Unabridged

Roy Adkins, with his wife, Lesley, returns to the Napoleonic War in The War for All the Oceans, a gripping account of the naval struggle that lasted from 1798 to 1815, a period marked at the beginning by Napoleon’s seizing power and at the end by the War of 1812. In this vivid and visceral account, Adkins draws on eyewitness records to portray not only the battles but also the details of a sailor’s life—shipwrecks, press-gangs, prostitutes, spies, and prisoners of war.

The War for All the Oceans is epic narrative history sure to appeal to fans of Patrick O’Brian and C. S. Forester, as well as all readers of military and social history.

The period 1798 to 1815 - the Napoleonic Wars - has just about everything that you could wish for in a book on naval history - large fleet actions such as the Battle of the Nile and Copenhagen; many duels between pairs or small groups of ships, such as the Shannon and Chesapeake; combined operations like the disastrous Walcheren expedition; and attempts to destroy enemy ships with new inventions like torpedoes and rockets.

Most naval histories stop at Nelson, but this book shows that what came afterwards is just as fascinating. Naval history is not just about broadsides and bloodshed, but the lives and experiences of real people, and for the first time extensive eyewitness accounts vividly portray aspects of life other than actual battles, including shipwrecks, press-gangs, prostitutes, spies and prisoners-of-war. At various times during this 17-year period, the British Navy took on almost every other nation that had a rival fleet: the French, Spanish, Dutch, Danes and Americans. Shipping routes all over the world were guarded to ensure that trade with Britain was not interrupted, and as Napoleon lost his empire, the British Empire formed solid foundations - all because Britain came to control the oceans.

Running time: 22 hrs, 9 mins.