August 1; 1798: Thirteen French ships sit anchored in Aboukir Bay off the coast of Alexandria; Egypt; in support of Napoleon; now ashore with the bulk of his troops. Nighttime approaches--and so do the British. Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson has for months been hunting Napoleon at sea; now; upon his command; the English fleet opens fire on the surprised and trapped enemy. By battle's end; nearly all of the French ships are sunk or captured; and the 120-gun flagship Orient--the pride of the French navy--has exploded. With 1;700 of his men dead; Bonaparte's ability to dominate the region is crushed. Nelson becomes a hero throughout all of Britain.Discovery Books presents Napoleon's Lost Fleet: Bonaparte; Nelson; and the Battle of the Nile; a spirited chronicle of Lord Nelson's pursuit of Napoleon as the French general set out to capture Egypt. Gifted storytellers Laura Foreman and Ellen Blue Phillips bring this great age of naval warfare to life as they recount the greed; audacity; bravery; and bloodshed that made up this; the Battle of the Nile. With equal parts bold narrative and historical accuracy; the authors show Bonaparte and Nelson as complex and brilliant militarists destined to lead their countries to glory. That Nelson prevailed in Egypt was testament to his impudence; his highly maneuverable ships--and considerable good fortune. Despite an ill-equipped; undermanned; and financially strapped navy; Napoleon had assembled a formidable armada of 13 battleships; 300 transport vessels; and 38;000 men. His plan to conquer Egypt--which started off with a treasure-raiding stop at Malta along the way--might well have succeeded if the pursuing Nelson had not followed a hunch about Bonaparte's destination.Following this riveting account of the chase; the battle; and the aftermath; the book takes readers far beneath Aboukir Bay with French underwater explorer Franck Goddio and his team as they dive at the site of the Orient and two other sunken French ships; the Serieuse and the Artemise. There they uncover and salvage exotic coins; artillery; personal artifacts; and other finds that speak eloquently of life at sea and at war in the late eighteenth century.Lavishly illustrated with more than 200 extraordinary full-color photographs; expedition images; portraits; scenic paintings; and battle maps; Napoleon's Lost Fleet joins military history with cutting-edge marine archaeology to captivate all lovers of discovery.
#7487 in Books 2017-08-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 1.40 x 6.25l; 3.00 #File Name: 1560852356600 pages
Review
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful. Exhaustively researchedBy Johnny T. TownsendLike many fans of Michael Quinn’s work; I’ve been waiting impatiently for the “Wealth and Corporate Power†volume of “The Mormon Hierarchy.†And I think it was worth the wait. Quinn is notorious for his detailed scholarship; and the book is heavily footnoted. In addition; the bulk of this book is a series of 21 lengthy appendices. It is a thorough and exhaustive reference work on the subject of the finances of the LDS Church and its leaders. That said; no one takes the material at face value. On the exmormon reddit forum; for example; there was a lengthy discussion of the table on page 35 estimating tithing income; why some people felt the figures might be a little off. But I found most of the material in the book both fascinating and convincing. Quinn explains his methodology in understandable terms; and he converts figures from throughout the history of the Church to their equivalent in 2010 dollars; to make the material easier to comprehend. On page 70; Quinn notes the limitations of his Appendix 5; but in so doing reveals just how exhaustive his research was. What’s truly amazing is that Quinn has been able to put tens of thousands individual pieces of data into a cohesive; understandable format. Something worth noting is that the book appears to have no political agenda. Some readers may want to find some kind of smoking gun that embarrasses or hurts the LDS Church; but we are basically just being given information that is difficult (or impossible) for the average person to get on their own. The reader or activist can make what they will of it. Part of the “problem†with the book is that most of the information is ancient history. While it is useful; perhaps essential; to understand the past of the Church; the information regarding the U.S. pretty much stops several decades ago. Canada; Australia; the UK; Tonga; the Philippines; and New Zealand require the Church to disclose its finances; so this is certainly helpful; but with information from the US lacking; readers are left with questions even this important tome can’t answer. This; of course; isn’t a fault of the author—it’s simply a result of the iron-willed secrecy of the Church. There is some information available to fill this gap; thankfully; such as the discussion of church service employees; where the Church “calls†members to fill jobs that would normally be paid; such as clerk; receptionist; real estate specialist; forklift operator; ranch hand; shop foreman; welder; etc. The Church also coerces its members to act as a volunteer janitorial staff for its local meetinghouses. We also hear about the Perpetual Education Fund; started in 2001 to help members in various countries have the opportunity to attend colleges in their area. Information about the City Creek mall in Salt Lake and other projects is also helpful. These and other pieces of information keep that huge gap in current Church financial transparency from becoming a black hole. The bottom line is that this book is as comprehensive as is possible at this time and thus gives us a wealth of information that is both enlightening and useful. Well worth the time and effort to read.
