Book Description
An engaging range of period texrs and theme books for AS and A level history. Cambridge Perspectives in History provides a range of textbooks and advanced history courses, focusing on key periods and themes in British and European history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

excellent overview
Be it fiction or non-fiction, one can hardly open a book without some reference to the French Revolution. Revolution and Reaction outlines the events and personalities of the period, placing important concepts, people, and movements in bold type, then defining these in the margin. Many questions are answered, such as whether Napoleon was a military genius, with illustrations of his tactics on the battlefield. I picked up my copy in a campus bookstore, where it was being sold for a history course. It only reinforces my opinion that professors choose the best material for their courses. Just the right amount of detail is included and the book as a whole can be easily read in a few hours. Questions are often placed in the margins, useful for students who want to remember what they are reading for testing.

After reading this book, you'll be ready to dive into heavier material with a solid foundation for understanding it. At the very least this book will make you better informed on an event that reverberates to this day. French citizens are out in force in the streets of Paris? After reading this book, you'll know it's a tradition! ... Read more

Book Description
SURTEES OF THE 95TH RIFLES - FROM REDCOAT TO RIFLE GREENIn more ways than any other writer from the ranks of the 95th, William Surtees' story most closely resembles that of fiction's most famous Rifleman. Surtees actually came from a humble background and served in the ranks. He was not born a gentleman but had to approximate one at a time of huge class distinctions. Surtees rose to the rank of Quartermaster. Through his tone we feel the difficulties of living with those of higher station, but through his words we alsoexperience life on campaign from the viewpoint of a soldier who couldn't resist picking up a rifle for a 'pot' at the French. An essential perspective on life in the Rifles during the Napoleonic Wars. ... Read more

Book Description
With Wellington's Light Cavalry - Campaigning with the 16th Light Dragoons in the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars. A cavalryman's story that could have ended before it began. In the first chapter Tomkinson and his16th Light Dragoons rashly charge into the rearguard of the French Army and he is shot and bayoneted. But in 1810 Tomkinson is once again in Spain fighting the French. This book is a fine example of a personal account filled with personal and unit detail combined with a clear and informative narrative of the campaigns in which the writer was engaged. A substantial read by any standards, the final 55 pages are devoted to Tompkinson's first hand experience of the 1815 campaign culminating in Napoleon'sdownfall at Waterloo. ... Read more

Book Description
Novelists from C. S. Forester to Patrick O'Brian have glorified Nelson's dashing frigate captains, but how much of their story is true? The author of this new volume on the nature of frigate command argues that the legend was very close to reality. Based on detailed studies of the appointments, training, and promotion of the Royal Navy's officer corps, he contends that frigate commanders were an elite group whose careers followed separate paths from their contemporaries. They exhibited specific and highly prized skills that were rewarded with fast-track promotions and resulted in the creation of one of the most successful military cadres in history. Often facing daunting odds, these frigate captains won the vast majority of their battles and a place in maritime lore. This book is a fascinating contribution to the broader understanding of the workings of Nelson's navy and will appeal to enthusiasts and historians alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Background to Aubrey, Hornblower and Bolitho
Star Captains, the title almost sounds like a novel written for Star Trek or something but in reality, it an in-depth study of what kind of men attained the command of frigate during the Napoleonic Wars for the British Royal Navy. The book clearly implied that these frigate captains were the cream of the corps of naval captains. The demands of such captains compared to their counterparts commanding bigger ship of the line were considerably more demanding due to the initimate nature of the smallness of their vessel as well as its independent nature of being assigned to a frigate. Whether serving as a scout for the main fleet or on independent mission, these leaders have to proves their worth every day and under more tiresome conditions then their counterparts who commanded bigger ships. However, the pay-off comes in prize money and fame.

This book proves to be well written and well researched on the subject. As one previous reviewer stated, this book is not for casual reading. The author managed to produced a very detail book on all aspects of a career of a frigate captain. It is not an easy read for beginners in this field. But once you can sort this book out, you come to realized that all these fictional heroes like Aubrey, Hornblower and Bolitho were not far off from real men who commanded the frigates of the British Royal Navy.

A book that comes highly recommended despite of the heavy complexity of the subject. In some ways, many of the fine characteristics of a superb frigate captain can be applied to characters like Archer, Kirk or Picard from Star Trek fame as well.

Great!
Most histories of this era carefully walk us through the major events of the period, laying out other events as necessary to advance the author's point of view. This book takes a different, and refreshing approach: it focuses specifically on frigate captains -- the dashing, courageous fighters who took the war to mouth of French harbours and allied shipping on the high seas. The is well written and is a quick read. But don't let the quick read fool you -- it's a great history worth reading.

More than I wanted, and less.
This is not a book for the faint hearted.As good as it is, and it is good, and well written, it is not a book for the casual, or even interested, reader. The book is filled with graphs, charts, and technical evaluations.if you know your captain, this is the place to find out why and when, and where he served. The book does not give enough detail to feel the spirit of most of these men. For that, look to the books titled "Broadside", or "The Sea Warriors".

A great look at a select group of naval heroes
"The Star Captains: Frigate Command in the Napoleonic Wars"
is an unparalleled look at Royal Navy frigate captains, the officers who werethe historical seeds for Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey and C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower.Wareham's interest in the subject began with his curiosity about Captain James Newman Newman, whose portrait hung in a stairway at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.Seeking to learn more about this thoroughly obscure officer led Wareham beyond standard library books on naval history, and he soon realized that there was little published information about typical frigate captains.Wareham's research into the subject led to his Phd thesis and this book.

What was the career of a post captain like?What did a career in the navy of this era consist of?What was the truth behind the popular images of Nelson's navy?These are the questions that Wareham sought to answer.Along the way, he provides a good deal of analytical data about frigate captains, including statistics on the length of service between passing for lieutenant and being made post, on the how many years a captain might serve as commander of a frigate, and on frequency of assignments to various duty stations.Prize agents' accounts for frigates' captures are tabularized.Family social backgrounds and professions of siblings are listed.All in all, Wareham's book is a treasure trove of information.He also describes various frigate battles and their aftermaths, and he discusses the careers of many unheralded Royal Navy captains.All in all, this is a first-rate resource for better understand the realities of the world so familiar from the works of O'Brian and Forester. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Melancholy Soldier
De Rocca's memoir of the war in Spain is far less well-known than that of his hussar colleague Jean Marbot but makes for excellent reading (& probably far less given to exaggeration). Greenhill should be thanked for adding this short work to their Napoleonic Library -an affordable addition to any Peninsular collection. De Rocca's description of the insurgency leaves little to the imagination and certainly makes understandable the French failure to conquer the Spanish people. Any student of the Peninsula should pick this up as should those studying counterinsurgency. De Rocca later went on to wed the formidable Madame de Stael in a love match. We're lucky to have such a memoir by an intelligent, thoughtful campaigner. See also Memoirs of Colonel Bugeaud and the thoroughly readable Recollections of Colonel de Gonneville.

Fighting disciplined troops and civilian population in Spain
It is really rare to find books specially on the peninsular war and the war in Spain from the French side, the books that you find in English are almost always from the English side or Spanish.

This is a great book that you would really enjoy, we can find not only of a brave and compassionate man(not normal in some french hussards), but of an intelligent and objective observer of the military situation that the French Army find in Spain with the noncommon style of war made by Spanish Guerrilla .

We follow for two years a hussar officer in Napoleon's army, De Rocca was sent to Spain in 1808 from Germany where the French found a very different kind of war; here they were fighting not only the disciplined troops of the English under Sir John Moore, and the Spanish army, but also a civilian population desperately fighting to regain their freedom against Napoleon whose brother Joseph ruled Spain as a puppet king. De Rocca gives vivid accounts of military operations such as the march to Madrid and Napoleon's entry into the city and the subsequent battles in which he took part, the pursuit of Sir John Moore's army to Corunna, the battle at Talavera, which took place while he was away from Spain for a few months, and the battles that followed against the English under General Sir Arthur Wellesley, now in command in the Iberian peninsula. He also describes the enormous personal dangers he faced in every Spanish village that the French army entered, where every man, woman and child was intent on their death, yet he still pays tribute to the character of their enemies even when his own life was at risk from them.

You will enjoy this book. ... Read more

Book Description
A unique and exceptional account of the British Army on campaign against Napoleon

Most British military memoirs of the Napoleonic period focus, understandably, on the actions of Wellington's army as it fought through the Iberian peninsula during the bloody struggle to expel the French from Portugal and Spain. Morris's important memoir is somewhat different. He elected to join his elder brother in the second battalion of the 73rd regiment of foot and found himself on board ship bound for Sweden. Campaigning and battles against the French in close co-operation with the Northern European Allies followed as he marched with his regiment through Germany, taking part in the actions which led to the Emperor's great reverse at Leipzig. As the First Empire recoiled in its final days before the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, Morris took part in the last actions as the French Army was pushed from the Low Countries after which they remained there in garrison. So it was that the 73rd were literally 'on the spot' when Napoleon slipped away from his exile on Elba and began his fateful march towards the apocalyptic battles of Quatre Bras and Waterloo in 1815. Morris's accounts of the famous events of --perhaps-the world's most famous battles have become classic and often quoted descriptions of these great conflicts. They are here in their entirety, together with Morris's complete military memoir making this book an essential addition to any Napoleonic history library. ... Read more

Book Description
This is a Leonaur original-never before in print. Cooke wrote three volumes of his military memoirs which originally embraced his service in America and the War of 1812 and which also included contributions from other authors. This book brings together Cooke's writings detailing his service with the 43rd Light Infantry as it fought Napoleon's French Army as a part of the famous Light Division. The author's narrative now cohesively records his experiences in a linear form for the first time, beginning with his enrolment in the army, to the Walcheren Expedition and onwards to his campaigns in Iberia. Here we join him in every engagement from the assault on Cuidad Rodrigo to the fall of Toulouse and the occupation of France leading to the First Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Leonaur's editors have created an exceptional first hand account of the experience of warfare from the perspective of a Light Division officer in the Peninsular War. Cooke is an able author with a fine eye for description and his attention to detail will particularly interest those who study the military dress of this period. This is an indispensable book which will be a new and invaluable addition to the library of every student of Napoleonic history. ... Read more

Book Description
Currents Of German Nationalism In Recent Historical Plays. ... Read more

Book Description
Presented here, for the first time in any language, are more than 800 detailed biographies of the senior Russian officers who commanded troops in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, together with 440 bandx portraits. This amazing study spans the critical years of 1792 to 1815, but also includes those officers whose service fell before and after this period.

Dr. Mikaberidze's The Russian Officer Corps is based upon years of research in Russian archives. Each biography includes the subject's place of birth, family history, educational background, a detailed description of his military service, his awards and promotions, wounds, transfers, commands, and other related information, including the date and place of his death and internment, if known.

In addition to the biographies is an introductory chapter setting forth in meticulous detail the organization of the Russian military, how it was trained, the educational and cultural background of the officer corps, its awards and their history and meaning, and much more. This outstanding overview is supported and enhanced by three dozen charts, tables, and graphics that illustrate the rich history of the Russian officer corps.

This study also includes a Foreword by Dr. Donald H. Horward, and an annotated bibliography to help guide students of the period through the available Russian sources.

Stunning in its scope and depth of coverage, The Russian Officer Corps will be of tremendous use to historians, scholars, genealogists, hobbyists, wargamers, and anyone working or studying late 18th and early 19th-century European history. Every student of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as every academic library, will find this impressive reference work absolutely indispensable.

Serious readers of this momentous period of history cannot afford to be without this exceptional reference work.

About the Author: Alexander Mikaberidze is an assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University. He holds a law degree from the Republic of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University, where he worked at the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution. He serves as president of the Napoleonic Society of Georgia. In addition to his numerous articles on various Napoleonic-related topics, Dr. Mikaberidze's publications include a biography of Napoleon in Georgian, two volumes on the Russo-Turkish War of 1806-1812, and the forthcoming Lion of the Russian Army: Life and Career of General Peter Bagration

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Customer Reviews (8)

The first liberators
This is a book about a very unique officer corps written using a wealth of research not seen on the subject before. Far more then just a dictionary of names, it seeks to give something of a feel for what it was that eventually led the Imperial Russian Army of Tzar Alexander 1st (the Blessed) to eventually enter Paris in 1814. For the first time it becomes evident that the Russian officer corps was far from lacking in sophistication, and far less xenophobic then is often supposed. The many foreign officers who served in its ranks attest to the fact that almost anyone was accepted if they could show good will and contribute skill to the evolving force which was at the time but a century into its modern history after Peter the Great's reforms.
Apparently due to publisher's editing the bibliography was greatly reduced, but this takes nothing away from the contents. Anyone who wants to understand the leadership that made the Russian Army of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars must have this volume on their bookshelf.

The Unknown Soldiers
With but a handful of exceptions, the Russian officer corps is the least known of those who served and led in the wars of the Napoleonic era.While careful readers and hobbyists might be able to name most of Napoleon's marshals, they might be hard-pressed to identify even a fraction of as many Russian generals.Georges Six's Dictionnaire of French officers or Mullié's Biographie of early nineteenth century military men, as well as any number of English-language reference tools on the Napoleonic era military have been available to students of history, but no comparable biographical work on the Russian militaryhas been available to the non-Russophone reader.The Russian language, the Cyrillic alphabet and the relative unavailability of Russian sources has presented a barrier to those seeking more information on the Russians who fought Napoleon's armies.

Dr. Mikaberidze has written what will undoubtedly be the essential work of reference on the Russian officer corps. He begins with an overview of the Russian officer corps, giving a brief history from its beginnings under Peter the Great through to the Napoleonic era. We learn how Russia's military was trained, as well as the cultural milieu of the officer corps.Mikaberidze manages to pack a great deal of information into this introduction, supplementing the text with numerous tables and graphs.Included is a discussion of the ranks in the Russian military, with a number of tables marking their evolution over time.Finally Russian military orders are detailed with illustrations of their use.

Dr. Alexander Mikaberidze, an assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University, holds a law degree from the Republic of Georgia and a Ph.D. in history from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution. He serves as president of the Napoleonic Society of Georgia. Mikaberidze is also the author of the forthcoming Lion of the Russian Army: Life and Career of General Peter Bagration.

The Russian officer corps was made up almost exclusively of nobles (86.5 % in 1812), and many had entered the service at the age of sixteen or younger (nearly 500 of the officers serving in 1812 were sixteen or younger at their enlistment-13 had been five years of age or younger).Promotion for the nobility could be relatively quick if the officer had the right connections, while soldiers from the ranks might have to wait a quarter of a century to advance from the ranks of NCOs to commission officer status.

The meat of the books is the 800 biographies of Russian officers who fought against the French, Turks, Swedes, and Russia's other enemies during "our" era (naval officers are included as well).These biographies generally include dates of birth and death, family and educational history, military and civil service including notable battles and events, promotions and awards (including foreign orders) as well as other details of the subject's professional history. More than half the biographies are accompanied by black-and-white portraits.The biographies are arranged alphabetically, in an attractive double-column format.Individual entries run from a single paragraph to a couple of pages.

Dr. Mikaberidze has consulted a small library of archival, primary and secondary sources in compiling this unique and solid dictionary. These biographies will be a boon for historians wishing to distinguish, for instance, officers of the same surnames who are frequently identified by numbers (Mikaberidze points out that there were eighteen officers named Grekov, of whom six are detailed here).The volume also includes foreign-born officers serving in the Russian service, including British, Irish, German, Austrian, Polish, Italian, French, Spanish, Greek, Danish Dutch, Serb, and Armenian officers in the Russian military, demonstrating the cosmopolitan nature of war in the Napoleonic era.

Attractively produced, well-bound (though it will undoubtedly get heavy use), this work should be in libraries everyone with a keen interest in the Napoleonic wars and Russian history.The Russian Officer Corps is certain to be a standard reference source for years to come. Though I can't recommend this book more highly, I would have liked to have seen an index.An index, for example, would have allowed the reader the reader to locate all the officers who participated in a particular battle.A glossary of Russian military terms might also have been useful.

Consumate reference material for Napoleonic buffs
Name any Russian staff officer of the Napoleonic Wars and he's almost certain to be in here. You get a full treatment for each officer with their medals and awards and a brief social and military history. I haven't yet found an officer I wanted to look up not listed in this comprehensive guide.
An essential work of reference for all scholars of Russian Napoleonic history and also for fanatical followers of the Emperor who want to know more about their adversaries.

The Russian Juggernaut
This superb volume is a must for any student of the Napoleonic Wars whether or not you are interested in the Russian Army, its campaigns, its organization and equipment.Books such as these, at the level of scholarship with which it is written, seldom come along.In short, this volume is indispensable for any student, enthusiast, or historian of the period.

The author has compiled an unrivaled source of material on the Russian officer corps of the period and in doing so has written biographical data on hundreds of Russian officers, many having a portrait of the officer concerned with the biography.

The volume is thoroughly sourced and documented, and the endnotes, where appropriate, are most helpful.The foreward for the volume is by Don Horward, one of the best Napoleonic historians in the United States and in the Napoleonic community as a whole.His endorsement of this fine effort speaks volumes for its accuracy and worth.

The best portion of the book, however, is the excellent opening chapter on the history of the Russian Officer Corps.It is chock full of data, tables, and information that covers the Russians officer corps from 'muzzle to butt plate.'It is the most valuable portion of the book and a great introduction to the biographies.

Seldom does one come across a book of this value, scholarship, and scope.It is the definitive volume for the subject in English, and the author and publisher have done all of us a great service in presenting this outstanding volume to the public.

A superb work of scholarship
With a few exceptions, Western books on the Napoleonic Wars tend to deal with the Russian officers who fought in those wars in a rather cavalier fashion (if at all). Inaccuracies abound, even in descriptions of such prominent figures as Kutuzov, Bagration and Barclay de Tolly, while the lesser-known members of the Russian officer corps are often dismissed as being of little account. There is the added factor that all too may English-speaking writers (and this includes some historians who ought to know better) are so in awe of Tolstoy that they forget that War and Peace, while based on extensive research, is a work of fiction, and take it literally as a source of information about the Russian army. While his account of events is accurate in many respects, Tolstoy frequently bent facts or omitted them altogether if they did not fit in with his view of events.

Aleko Mikaberidze's monumental work sets out to change this state of affairs. Based as far as possible on primary sources, it contains biographies of more than 800 officers, both junior and senior, who served in the Russian army during the period of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. I was particularly pleased that it includes the enigmatic figure of Nadezhda Durova, who enlisted in an Uhlan regiment disguised as a man, and took part in several campaigns, reaching the rank of Staff Captain (Staff Rotmistr) in the cavalry. Wherever possible the biographies are illustrated by a portrait of the subject, making the accounts truly three-dimensional.

As well as the biographies themselves, the book includes much valuable information on the history, character and composition of the Russian officer corps. I am already familiar with Dr Mikaberidze's work through his Internet-published articles and his Ph.D. thesis on the most charismatic of the Russian generals, Petr Bagration. Like his previous writings, Dr Mikaberidze's book is meticulously researched and extremely well written, in a style that is informative yet very readable; it is handsomely produced and well laid out.

This will prove an extremely valuable source book for historians, war-gamers, historical researchers and novelists, as well as non-professionals like me who are simply fascinated by that period of history, especially as it pertains to Russia. Thoroughly recommended!
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Book Description
Geoffrey Ellis offers an up-to-date synthesis of recent research into the aims and effects of Napoleonic rule in France and in conquered Europe. Thoroughly revised, this second edition provides much more extensive coverage of Napoleon's treatment of the annexed lands and subject states of the "Grand Empire", as well as of military conscription and desertion, and the role of the Gendarmerie in the war against brigands and military defaulters. The legacy of Napoleonic rule is discussed in greater depth, and the book also features a more comprehensive bibliography. ... Read more

Book Description
*16 pages of illustrations
* 5 x 9
* Covers every aspect of the war
* Contributions by leading international military historians

This complementary volume to Sir Charles Oman's monumental study bringstogether new research by today's leading historians highlighting recentdevelopments in Peninsular War scholarship.By examining moderninterpretations, fresh evidence and new areas of research, this analysisof key aspects of the fighting in Spain and Portugal advances the debateon the struggle that marked the beginning of the end for NapoleonicEurope.

Paddy Griffith was a senior lecturer in War Studies at the Royal MilitaryAcademy Sandhurst, and is the author of numerous books, including TheViking Art of War. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good summary of Oman's History of the Peninsular War
I haven't quite finished this book yet but what I have read so far indicates a decent and balanced summary of Oman's monumental work. Paddy Griffith has assembled a team of largely well-established Napoleonichistorians to make their own commentaries on Oman's work and I find ithelpful to have read this book first before ploughing thru Oman's 7-volwork.

More hornblowing and trumpeting.
Want to taste jingoism?Read this book.Want to know how a biased book reads?Buy it."God Save the Queen," but not Paddy Griffith!

Griffith, take my advice and take a course in objectivity and professionalism from J. Elting and G. Nafziger before you grind out yournext book. ... Read more

Book Description
Published in association with the National Maritime Museum, this volume will appeal to anyone with an interest in the Napoleonic Wars, Nelson and Trafalgar or Military and Maritime History. The book features contributions from top scholars as they consider Trafalgar and the Napoleonic War in full context and with an eye on the battle's legacy and afterlife. ... Read more