Product Description

The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe, Africa and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the worlds greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #230650 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Foreword by Bernard Cornwell, author of the bestselling 'Sharpe' novels. Authors Todd Fisher and Dr Gregory Fremont-Barnes are amongst the world's leading Napoleonic scholars. Todd Fisher is the Executive Director of the Napoleonic Alliance, a founding member of the International Napoleonic Society, and Chief Executive Officer of Emperor's Press and Napoleon Journal. Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds degrees in history from the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Chicago, and the University of Oxford. He is the author of 'The French Revolutionary Wars' (2001), and is currently co-editing the four-volume 'Encyclopedia of the American Revolutionary War'.

Customer Reviews

Good introduction but lacks depth.
i got this book about 6 months ago.it was the first book on this topis that i had read. i loved every minute of it but like most osprey books it lacked the personal touch and anecdotes that could have made it great. it did however,like all osprey books,give the facts clearly and neatly. it has a certain clinical style and this aids your understanding of the period.
since i read this book first i have read many books on the subject(the best being 'Swords around a throne').i owe my interest in the napoleonic era to this book and i recommend it to those whos knowledge of the era is'nt great.this book is no in-depth read,but then its not ment to be and with maps as good it has its easy to follow and understand exactly what is going on from step to step.

Good Overview for Newcomers to the Period
Production of a single-volume history like this is a serious piece of work, and I find myself pondering just who the target audience might be. Whoever they are, there's a lot of reading in this book, and much of it is written in a one-paced, almost conversational style which is rarely very involving, and, ultimately, pretty heavy going. Clearly, it is primarily aimed at people who want a general overview and chronology of the period; if they want more detail or more formal academia then they can obtain specialist volumes on more restricted topics. I have no problem at all with this; like all Osprey publications it is beautifully produced (excellent illustrations, and some admirable maps) and represents very good value at the price. The downside is that the average general reader requires to be gripped and led on, in the style of - say - Elting or Chandler or Chris Duffy, to get through all this stuff, especially if they are not a thoroughly committed enthusiast at the outset. This work is not detailed enough to dip into as a reference, and, in my view, is too big and bland to encourage many readers to stick it out to the end. Overall, I believe that the general reader would get a lot more satisfaction from David Chandler's 'Campaigns of Napoleon', John Elting's 'Swords around a Throne', or the works on the Napoleonic Wars by Charles Esdaile.

average
im studying Napoleon for Alevel and although the book is good its not a quick read in the slighest and you have to search for infomation xxx