Seize the Fire: Heroism, Duty, and the Battle of Trafalgar - Couverture rigide

Nicolson, Adam

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0060753617 ISBN 13 : 9780060753610

Editeur : Harper, 2005

Synopsis

Book by Nicolson Adam

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

In Seize the Fire, Adam Nicolson, author of the widely acclaimed God's Secretaries, takes the great naval battle of Trafalgar, fought between the British and Franco-Spanish fleets in October 1805, and uses it to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. Is violence a necessary aspect of the hero? And daring? Why did the cult of the hero flower in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in a way it hadn't for two hundred years? Was the figure of Nelson—intemperate, charming, theatrical, anxious, impetuous, considerate, indifferent to death and danger, inspirational to those around him, and, above all, fixed on attack and victory—an aberration in Enlightenment England? Or was the greatest of all English military heroes simply the product of his time, "the conjurer of violence" that England, at some level, deeply needed?

It is a story rich with modern resonance. This was a battle fought for the control of a global commercial empire. It was won by the emerging British world power, which was widely condemned on the continent of Europe as "the arrogant usurper of the freedom of the seas." Seize the Fire not only vividly describes the brutal realities of battle but enters the hearts and minds of the men who were there; it is a portrait of a moment, a close and passionately engaged depiction of a frame of mind at a turning point in world history.

Revue de presse :

“Elegant and imaginative.” (Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post)

“The reader will find nothing dull about this sparkling work...majestic, poetic and, at base, authentic.” (Literary Review)

“Vibrant and welcome addition to the admittedly already large library of Nelsonia.” (Jonathan Bouquet, The Observer)

“A well-reasoned transoceanic rejoinder to Freeman’s Affairs of Honor, and a pleasure for fans of Aubrey and Hornblower.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Bold and provocative...Nicolson’s book stands out from amongst its rivals.” (Sunday Telegraph)

“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)

“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)

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Harper
• Date d'édition: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0060753617
• ISBN 13: 9780060753610
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 368