Seize the Trident

by Douglas R. Burgess Jr.

Sparked in 1889 by the Kaiser's declaration that he would seize the trident from English shipping firms, this friendly rivalry soon became a clash of fierce national pride, personal ego and global... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071430091
• ISBN13: 9780071430098
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: International Marine Publishing
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

much better than the usual history

a friend recommended this book to me. i am usually more interested in political history than ocean liners, but the author does a great job of combining the two. i especially liked the stories of the major figures--Morgan, Ismay, the Kaiser--and how invested they were in the ships. the style of the book is comprehensive but not boring, and has a great deal of detail. overall i enjoyed it very much.

An excellent read on the subject...

Granted, this isn't going to take the place of "The Sway of the Grand Saloon" or other ocean liner classics, but I found the book to be a very decent read. If I had to pick one particular "gripe" about the book, I think it pays a little too much time on J.P. Morgan, the man himself, but you can always skip ahead on that. The data on the ships themselves is quite good and I certainly recommend this one.

Seize The Trident by Douglas R. Burgess Jr

The book is a fascinating presentation of how the race to produce the largest, fastest ocean liners after 1899 significantly contributed to World War I. It is a masterful depiction of history not found in any textbook. For those who are sailors or naval veterans, it is MUST reading. Though not a sailor nor a Navy veteran, myself, my interest in history prohibited me from putting the book down, once started. Douglas R. Burgess Jr is a wonderful new author.

Luxury from a Time Long Past

It's hard in today's world to recognize that national competitions, national honor could rest on who could build the biggest, fanciest, fastest passenger liner. It's hard to imagine that newspapers would treat the crossing the Atlantic times as events to be covered as headline news. But it is true. The years from 1889 when Kaiser Wilhelm II declared that he would "seize the trident" from the British up until World War I was a period of time when the civilizations of the world pushed technology and luxury to the limits. Even minor inconveniences like the Titanic running too fast for safety with fatal consequences provided only a short interruption. Strange also was the way the era came to an end. With the outbreak of war the German liners were taken over by the allies and used to transport American troops to fight against Germany. This book is a delightful history of the time and well worth reading. I'd just like to see another couple or three chapters. One would be on the times between the world wars. And another on the attempt after the war to return to the great age of ship travel with ships like the United States and Andrea Doria. Perhaps a final chapter on the modern cruise ships, at 70,000+ tons, these dwarf the ships from the Superliner Era, and they just go around in circles.