---
product_id: 73409146
title: "Seize the Trident: The Race For Superliner Supremacy And How It Altered The Great War"
brand: "douglas burgess"
price: "¥9831"
currency: JPY
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
category: "Books"
url: https://www.desertcart.jp/products/73409146-seize-the-trident-the-race-for-superliner-supremacy-and-how
store_origin: JP
region: Japan
---

# Seize the Trident: The Race For Superliner Supremacy And How It Altered The Great War

**Brand:** douglas burgess
**Price:** ¥9831
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Seize the Trident: The Race For Superliner Supremacy And How It Altered The Great War by douglas burgess
- **How much does it cost?** ¥9831 with free shipping
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- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.jp](https://www.desertcart.jp/products/73409146-seize-the-trident-the-race-for-superliner-supremacy-and-how)

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Seize the Trident: The Race For Superliner Supremacy And How It Altered The Great War

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A very 'good read', but tends to select facts that suit the theme of the book.
            
*by R***K on 20 March 2014*

The major theme of this book is that a very few key individuals fought out a 'turf war' designed to achieve supremacy on the North Atlantic and that this contest became a central one in the ultra- nationalist antagonism that led to the Great War. I would not deny there is much truth in that but in this account some relevant facts are ignored or down- played because they do not support the thesis, this resulting in an overly simple case being presented.For example, in the opening chapters the historic supremacy of the Cunard company is emphasised, but there is no mention of the Guion Line at all and not much about Inman and the early efforts of the American Line. In reality Cunard really struggled over a twenty year period from the late 60's until the late 80's and then, in some desperation, used Guion's builder Thompsons to construct the successful Umbria and Etruria. For most of that period Cunard relied heavily on its usually ignored Mediterranean trade whilst on the North Atlantic its reputation for safety at sea was the only major factor it had going for it- and following the loss of the ex Guion liner 'Oregon' they were very lucky to retain that. The author does note the  slightly ironic fact that Oregon's full compliment, along with Cunards reputation, was rescued by a German rival, the NDL liner 'Fulda'.Did the Kaiser really have such a dominating influence over the building of NDL's super liners? In fact nearly a decade elapsed between his visit to the White Star liner 'Teutonic' in 1889 and the completion of 'Kaiser Wilhelm de Grosse' in 1897. The German Government provided little practical incentive- there were no subsidies. However in the 1880's NDL commissioned a very large number of fine liners comprising the 'Fulda' class, most of which were built in Britain, whilst HAPAG's 'Columbia' class were far from the insignificant vessels they are presented here as being. The eventual appearance of the German express steamers, built by their own developing shipbuilding industry, was a natural progression that almost certainly would have happened anyway, Kaiser or no Kaiser. Mr Burgess has carried out in- depth studies of the Kaiser, J.P.Morgan, Albert Ballin and Bruce Ismay- rather less, it is clear, on the dirctors of NDL or on Lord Inverclyde of Cunard. I was left with the feeling that the importance of the individuals, as presented by the author, tends to reflect the amount of research he has done on them, rather than the other way about.Having said all that, there is no question that the personal portraits presented here are compelling and make for a good read- much more interesting than the mere recounting of company statistics and the decisions of boards of directors. The description of the ships themselves are geared to their style and social order as much as to their performance at sea. Space and luxury became more important than mere speed. Profits depended on packing in the emigrants, prestige on the attractions offered for First Class. Completing the circle, and perhaps perversely, the prestige of a ship in its turn attracted the emigrants. It is interesting to note the German emphasis on the Kaiser and his family, with huge painted portraits, busts and 'name dropping' visible everywhere, whereas the British companies simply attempted to present their monied customers with the best in upper class good taste (as that was defined at the time). This sort of thing revealed German insecurity and a certain lack of confidence: certainly Cunard and White Star took the view that if you really were superior you did not have to keep on telling everyone about it.Insecurity stemmed from the newness of the German shipbuilding Industry and, indeed, of the German Empire itself. Nevertheless, despite this lack of 'history' the Germans had already secured a greater share of the North Atlantic trade than the British even before they built their first super liners. That is simply because Hamburg and Bremen were directly accessible to the hordes of Central and East European emigrants, whilst Southampton and Liverpool were not. These are facts that do not suit the authors thesis, but his book does emphasise that the super liners were all about national prestige and self image: they were the 'icing on the cake' of the then already booming North Atlantic business. That sort of thing did get decidedly out of control, whilst at the same time these vast ships outpaced safety legislation, the abilities of their crews and the communications technology of the day- with 'Titanic' consequences.The very existence of these ships ensured they would play a significant role in the First World War. In the same way that he focuses on a few key personalities earlier in the book the author concentrates on representative ships- Kronprinz Wilhelm, Lusitania and Vaterland (Leviathan)- to characterise the war at sea.  These huge liners were soon found to be too big, cumbersome and vulnerable to be really successful as cruisers, but late in the war great irony came from the employment of several German super liners as American transports, used to take many thousands of troops to fight against the people who built them. After the war there was much symbolism in HAPAGs trio of great ships being distributed between the victorious allies. In the end Britannia would continue to rule the transatlantic waves for several more decades.I've been a little critical here- but this is a very enjoyable book to read and also very thought provoking: I cannot say that about many books I come across these days. I bought a good copy of this volume for £12 or so, at which price it is a real bargain.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Interesting
            
*by D***N on 26 January 2013*

A great weekend read - looks at the Ocean Liner competition that occurred between the US, UK and Germany before the first world war and how for many years the blue ribbon race channeled the aggression between both sides in a non-violent manner until political events overtook it all. Captures ship life and personalities of those years well and reads like a thriller in some places.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An excellent read on the subject...
            
*by N***R on 11 January 2008*

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.
  

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*Product available on Desertcart Japan*
*Store origin: JP*
*Last updated: 2026-03-12*