Seize the Fire - Heroism, Duty, and Nelson's Battle of Trafalgar

In October 1805, Lord Horatio Nelson led the British Royal Navy to a decisive victory over the Franco-Spanish fleets. Adam Nicolson, author of the widely acclaimed God''s Secretaries, uses the Battle of Trafalgar to examine our idea of heroism and the heroic. Is violence a necessary aspect of the hero? Why did the cult of the hero flower in the late 18th and 19th centuries in a way it hadn''t for 200 years? Was Lord Horatio Nelson an aberration or simply the product of his time, ''the conjuror of violence'' which England, at some level, deeply needed? Seize the Fire not only vividly describes the brutal realities of battle, but also enters the hearts and minds of those who were there. It is a passionately engaged depiction of a turning point in world history. Adam Nicolson lives on a 90-acre farm near Burwash with his wife and five children. In the past he has been both a publisher and a travel writer. He has written books on Eastern Europe, the American West, the evolution of the small English town and the Somerset Levels. He has won both a Somerset Maugham Award and the British Topography Prize and has been shortlisted for Newspaper Feature Writer of the Year. ''[A] stirring, vividly written book.''- New York Times Book Review

About the author

Adam Nicols on is the author of Seamanship, God's Secretaries, and Seize the Fire. He has won both the Somerset Maugham and William Heinemann awards, and he lives with his family at Sissinghurst Castle in England.

Product details

• Authors: Adam Nicolson
• Publisher: Harper Perennial USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 29.08.2006
• EAN: 9780060753627
• ISBN: 978-0-06-075362-7
• No. of pages: 384
• Dimensions: 135 mm x 203 mm x 22 mm
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political administration; BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Historical, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Political, HISTORY: Military / Naval, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Military, HISTORY: EUROPE, HISTORY: Europe / Great Britain, HISTORY: Europe / France, HISTORY: Europe / Great Britain / 21st Century, HISTORY: Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY: Europe / Spain