In this book, Brian Lavery places the Battle of the Nile in its full strategic context, showing the interplay of military and political factors that sent Nelson's squadron into the Mediterranean in pursuit of the powerful French invasion fleet. This was also Nelson's first independent fleet command, and the author shows the development of his command style and the forging of the esprit de corps which was later to triumph at Trafalgar. It also provides a fascinating and detailed insight into the nature and conditions of naval war in the Age of Sail, from the strain felt by fleet commanders, isolated from higher authority and starved of information of the enemy, to the daily lives of the sailors and the tactics used in battle. All these strands of the story are brought seamlessly together to present the most thorough, detailed, fascinating and vivid account of the most decisive naval campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars.