2005
First Published
3.84
Average Rating
384
Number of Pages
“Strikingly original... Nicolson brings to life superbly the horror, devastation, and gore of Trafalgar.” — The Economist Adam Nicolson takes the great naval battle of Trafalgar, fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleets, and uses it to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. A story rich with modern resonance, Seize the Fire reveals the economic impact of the battle as a victorious Great Britain emerged as a global commercial empire. In October 1805 Lord Horatio Nelson, the most brilliant sea commander who ever lived, led the British Royal Navy to a devastating victory over the Franco-Spanish fleets at the great battle of Trafalgar. It was the foundation of Britain's nineteenth-century world-dominating empire. Seize the Fire is not only a close and revealing portrait of a legendary hero in his final action but also a vivid account of the brutal realities of battle; it asks the questions: Why did the winners win? What was it about the British, their commanders and their men, their beliefs and their ambitions, that took them to such overwhelming victory? His masterful history is a portrait of a moment, a close and passionately engaged depiction of a frame of mind at a turning point in world history.
Avg Rating
3.84
Number of Ratings
459
5 STARS
27%
4 STARS
37%
3 STARS
29%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
1%
goodreads
Author
Adam Nicolson
Author · 24 books
Adam Nicolson writes a celebrated column for The Sunday Telegraph. His books include Sissinghurst, God’s Secretaries, When God Spoke English, Wetland, Life in the Somerset Levels, Perch Hill, Restoration, and the acclaimed Gentry. He is winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and the British Topography Prize and lives on a farm in Sussex.
