Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192577 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

LITERARY REVIEW
'Blenheim: Battle for Europe is a lucid work of popular history... vivid portrayal of incidental detail... Charles Spencer's pacy and vibrant account is well worthy of a mention in dispatches.'

Review
'Charles Spencer's new study offers not only a highly accomplished account of the battle and its wider consequences, but also a shrewd and persuasive reassessment of the personalities involved... Spencer's account maintains the detachment of the professional historian, and is safely ancestor-worship free.' (THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'... thoughtful, interesting and well written... Spencer recovers an approach and authorial voice associated with Winston Churchill, whom indeed he quotes effectively and appropriately... From the excellent scene-setting of the Prologue to the effective battle description, which ably draws on the memoirs of the participants, Charles Spencer successfully combines narrative with analysis.' (EVENING STANDARD )

'... the Earl has made a remarkable debut as a popular military historian with the absorbing BLENHEIM: Battle for Europe... not to be missed.' (SOLDIER )

'... compulsively readable. I caught myself biting my fingernails during the account of the Battle of Blenheim... the sheer verve of Spencer's prose brings the battle of Blenheim alive better than any other account I have read since Winston Churchill's... the rest is a fine account of the politics and campaigns of a period that in less capable hands might seem impossibly complicated... vividly written...' (Andrew Roberts MAIL ON SUNDAY )

'Charles Spencer has written a pacey book, on the whole engaging because of, rather than despit, its exuberance and beautifully illustrated... the maps are good... What Spencer does superbly... is draw the connections and relations within Britain and Europe so that the intrigues of the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, the Hanoverian succession and the dynastic contortions of the continental war come vividly to life.' (THE TIMES )

'Spencer has.... acquitted himself creditably in his debut as a military historian... he displays a lively sense of period... Where Spencer has mad a real contribution to our understanding of the war of the Spanish succession is in his exploitation of the French sources... (THE SUNDAY TIMES )

'From the excellent scene-setting of the prologue to the effective battle description, which ably draws on the memoirs of the participants, Spencer successfully combines narrative with analysis... Charles Spencer is to be congratulated for ably drawing back into focus an earlier period when British forces also played a key role in moulding the fortunes of Europe.' (THE SCOTSMAN )

'Blenheim is a judicious and compelling account of an important but little-known battle.' (DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'pacy and enjoyable... this is a fine, intelligent, patriotic book which deserves to be read ...' (THE SPECTATOR )

'There is much to enjoy in this racy fast-paced narrative... A convincing and sympathetic portrait of the Duke himself is also presented, warts and all... The account of the storming of the Schellenberg heights a month before the battle at Blenheim is truly gripping, making effective use of contemporary accounts.' (TLS )

'Blenheim: Battle for Europe is a lucid work of popular history... vivid portrayal of incidental detail... Charles Spencer's pacy and vibrant account is well worthy of a mention in dispatches.' (LITERARY REVIEW )

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
'Charles Spencer's new study offers not only a highly accomplished account of the battle and its wider consequences, but also a shrewd and persuasive reassessment of the personalities involved... Spencer's account maintains the detachment of the professional historian, and is safely ancestor-worship free.'

Customer Reviews

Splendid job!
Charles Spencer's account of the Battle of Blenheim makes for almost a racy read. The book is both entertaining and informative. What I liked in particular is his account of the background to the conflict. He vividly brings to life the machinations of Louis XIV's court and the manoeuvring going on between the Grand Alliance powers. He is very skilled at making every point relevant. Marlborough emerges as an outstanding military leader and tactician, as well as having an attractive personal side. The book is divided into digestibly short chapters. I now understand why a battle around an insignificant village in the middle of Germany was so important for the destiny of Europe. And I learned about the battle in a very pleasant way - by reading Spencer's book.

Absolutely excellent!
I can not add much to what the other reviewers have already written. This book is simply superb. It reads like a novel. It is obviously the result of much painstaking research and a love of the subject. The author shows talent for bringing history to life. I was totally wrapped up in this book which filled a gap in my knowledge of this period. The relationships between the characters, the politics, the tactics and the sheer blood and guts all came across brilliantly. A great achievement.

A battlefield fit for Richard Sharpe!
I must confess to being particularly ignorant about this period of British history despite ploughing my way through Macauley's five volume opus (his rambling style of olde English bored me) but with little new on my favourite Napoleonic era I decided to delve a little further back in time. Too my surprise, Charles Spencer's interpretation of the battle of Blenhiem makes for compelling and enjoyable reading, and is a good point to start one's investigation of this era. I found his narrative reminiscent of Cornwell's style; racy, detailed, some what sarcastic in places and easy to follow. Quite addictive really. Reading through the campaign I was struck by how many famous Napoleonic battlefields were disputed earlier in history; it seems "old Europe" was indeed drenched in blood throughout the ages by one French tyrant after another. Spencer's work is highly creditable, well researched, rigourous and aimed squarley at the armchair reader. I look forward to further works in due time.