Product Description

At Waterloo, some 70,000 men under Napoleon and an equal number under Wellington faced one another in a titanic battle. Alessandro Barbero's majestic new account stands apart from previous British and French histories by giving voice to all the nationalities involved. The Battle is a masterpiece of military history and the definitive account of a battle that, in the words of John Keegan, 'reversed the tide of European history'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122593 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 340 pages

Review
"'This is not just the best book on Waterloo I've read, it's also one of the most original and stimulating works of military history I've come across in years. *****' Simon Shaw, Mail On Sunday 'A thoroughly readable, exciting account of a great clash of arms... Brilliant.' Mark Adkin, author of The Waterloo Companion 'Perhaps the most readable and original account for many years.' John Childs, Professor of History, University of Leeds 'Alessandro Barbero's new book deserves to be read by anyone with an interest in warfare.' Dr Gary Sheffield, King's College London"

About the Author
Alessandro Barbero teaches Medieval Studies at the Universita del Piemonte Orientale. In 1996, his novel, set in the Napoleonic era, was awarded the Strega Prize, Italy's most prestigious literary award.

Customer Reviews

Super Read
This book is instructive as well as entertaining. The English edition is quite readable and as far as the translation is concerned all I can say is that I noticed no clunkers. I find the description of how the combatants conducted themselves as interesting as the command decisions. I never realized what a dog fight it was and how vicious the participants were.

Nothing is perfect and this edition has some weaknesses in my opinion. For one thing, there are insufficient maps. I was unable to find the important village of Plancenoit on the battle maps. This village is named in at least two chapter titles. More than that it would have been helpful to have maps of the battle area as it is discussed. The battle maps provided are just not in enough detail in my opinion.

The other thing I would have liked in this book is a list of the important commanders and their general role. I spent a lot of time trying to identify who was who, but then this is my first book on this great battle.

All in all this is a fine book and I am enjoying it immensely.
I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the battle, the Napoleonic wars or the history of the 1800's.

One of the best histories on Waterloo
I have been fascinated, like a lot of people, by the battle of Waterloo and I have read many many books on the topic. This has to be one of the best, its packed with information and is soo readable.

The battle of waterloo was quite complex when you break it down to the all the charges, counter charges, individual actions, etc. like most battles but Barbero has created a very clear guide to events.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the battle of Waterloo.

Terrific
I had never read an historical account on the Battle of Waterloo, but can truly say that this book is a riveting account, with good detail easily read by myself, who had no prior knowledge, i now can talk at length on the subject, i have learnt so much, nice short chapters the pages just kept turning.