Seize the Fire - by Adam Nicolson (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"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.

From the Back Cover

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. Adam Nicolson's 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?

Review Quotes

"Elegant and imaginative." - Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post

"A well-reasoned transoceanic rejoinder to Freeman's Affairs of Honor, and a pleasure for fans of Aubrey and Hornblower." - Kirkus Reviews

"So ripping I faced the classic ocean-voyage quandary. Halfway through, my supply of pages dwindling, I started to ration. . . . A stirring, vividly written book." - New York Times Book Review

"So ripping I faced the classic ocean-voyage quandary. Halfway through, my supply of pages dwindling, I started to ration." - David Lipsky, New York Times Book Review

"A masterly reconstruction of this event." - Christopher Hitchens, Atlantic Monthly

"A thrilling book." - Bloomberg News

"full of suspense and vivid, raw descriptions of the butchery...sublime writing" - The Scotsman

"Of the books marking the bicentenary of...Trafalgar, Adam Nicolson's can claim to be one of the most original" - The Week

"strikingly original...Mr. Nicolson brings to life superbly the horror, devastation and gore of Trafalgar." - The Economist

"Nicolson brilliantly characterises each navy - British, French, Spanish - as an expression of the countries to which they belonged...vivid" - Country Life

"Seize the Fire...is so ripping I faced the classic ocean-voyage quandary. Halfway through, my supply of pages dwindling, I started to ration...stirring, vividly written book." - Independent on Sunday

"Bold and provocative...Nicolson's book stands out from amongst its rivals." - Sunday Telegraph

"The reader will find nothing dull about this sparkling work...majestic, poetic and, at base, authentic." - Literary Review

"argued with vigour and written with grace, it is an illuminating piece of interpretive cultural history." - Sunday Times (London)

"Nicolson's eye for detail creates a compelling readability." - The Spectator

"Vibrant and welcome addition to the admittedly already large library of Nelsonia." - Jonathan Bouquet, The Observer