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Title: The Waterloo Companion: The Complete Guide to History's Most Famous Land Battle by Mark Adkin ISBN: 0-8117-1854-9 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $59.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Good Introduction to Waterloo
Comment: I give this book 5 stars because of it's overall unique contribution to the battle as an "all in one" volume for those who do not own (or wish to own) any of the available books on the army's, the weapons, and soldiers, and also because it's treatment of the main phases of the battle in color coded maps is essentially unbeatable. It also contains the mother of all Orders of Battle for the Waterloo Campaign. That being said the narrative of the battle is NOT for the seriously interested as it only briefly covers the highpoints of the battle very near the end of the book, and much of that in anecdotal format. The problem with Adkin's Waterloo is it's inherent omissions give the false impression that the battle was not the "damned near-run affair" that it actually was. This is found in the author's faulty statement that the height of D'Erlon's assault was the closest Napoleon ever came to winning the battle. Yet the reader is dismayed to find that excepting a goodly amount of schematic detail on the assaults against La Haye Sainte, the whole remainder of the battle (hours worth) against Wellington's lines after Ney's cavaly charge all the way to the assault by the Old and Middle Guard is all but completely omitted. The Prussian contribution, though respected, is treated as a separate affair altogether. The reader also picks up a pro-anglo, pro-Cops-of-the-World slant in the narrative too probably in part because practically all of the author's sources came from previously published works in English, and most of his sources for the stories of the battle are from the English soldiers who fought in it. Some of the personal stories quoted sound rediculous, no doubt exaggerated over the years.
Rating: 5
Summary: Finally
Comment: This is the kind of history book I like to buy. No expense has been spared on this effort to present and also portray the battle of Waterloo. I sat with this book in a store for a few minutes and after reviewing it I raced to the counter with it, eager to add it to my Napoleonic collection. Objective (yes, even though it's about Waterloo) in-depth, and 'illuminating'. For example, the author has taken the effort to address many of the controversies surrounding this battle, and dissects them from both sides, and he lets YOU reach your own conclusion. Is this man a historian or what? Simply incredible. It is a very large and thick volume filled with charts, orders of battle, color photographs of the battlefield from nearly every direction, (with superimposed troop locations) and biographies of everyone from Napoleon down to individual soldiers. It serves as both a guide to the battle and also a great reference, teaching many things about the Napoleonic period itself. I find myself reading parts of it all the time. You will not need to buy any other book about Waterloo once you have this one. This is a work that will last indefinitely on any Napoleonic buff's shelf.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not just another Waterloo book
Comment: This book is not just another book on the Waterloo campaign. As the author states this book is not meant as a blow by blow account of the action but rather a look at different aspects of the battle including: The campaign, Orders of Battle, Command & Control, the battlefield, the various arms of the armies, and of course the main highlights of the battle. The last section takes an impartial look at the predominate myths and controversies surrounding the battle of Waterloo and the author comes up with his own conclusions in regards to them.
The book is massive (432pages) and makes superb use of colourful maps and photographs of the battlefield which explain the battle situation at key times, the deployment and various formations of forces.
The book also provides additional curious information by the use of text boxes including some first account experiences of the battle.
All in all this is an absolutely superb book, well researched using various sources of information, beautifully presented and printed on high quality paper. I have found it hard to put down , as I keep poring over the maps and digesting all the wonderful information to found in this book. This is a must buy for anyone with an interest in the Waterloo campaign. Lets hope Mark Adkin will do the same with other Napoleonic battles.
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Title: A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars by Vincent J. Esposito, John R. Elting ISBN: 1853673463 Publisher: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal Pub. Date: July, 1999 List Price(USD): $80.00 |
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Title: Wagram the Apogee of the Empire: The Apogee of the Empire by Francois Guy Hourtoulle, Alan McKay ISBN: 2913903339 Publisher: Histoire & Collections Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $37.95 |
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Title: Austerlitz: The Empire at Its Zenith by Francois Guy Hourtoulle ISBN: 2913903711 Publisher: Histoire & Collections Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $37.95 |
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Title: Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir ISBN: 0300082703 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Charge: Great Cavalry Charges of the Napoleonic Wars by Digby Smith ISBN: 1853675415 Publisher: Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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