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Waterloo: The True Story Of Four Days, Three Armies And Three Battles (2014)

by Bernard Cornwell(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

000753938X (ISBN13: 9780007539383)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

William Collins

review 1: A throughly enjoyable and engaging read for anyone with an interest in this period of history. Insightful and informative, Cornwell explores the differing accounts and opinions of all the protagonists and theorists in this beautifully illustrated book. The only negative for me was his slight tendency to recap positions and situations as the events unfolded, which rather than adding tension made certain sections a little repetitive.As previously mentioned, it's worth paying the extra for the Hardback edition.
review 2: While Bernard Cornwell has written many historical novels, he is perhaps best known as the creator of Richard Sharpe: the Rifleman fighting in Wellingtons armies throughout the Napoleonic Wars (and portrayed on TV by Sean Bean).While he is also k... morenown for carrying out research into the events that his novels are based around, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that - until now - he has produced any works of non-fiction.For his first, he has taken the subject of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the battle that ended both the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleons ambitions, when he was defeated by the combined might of Wellington Anglo-Dutch army and Grouchy's Prussians.With each chapter of the book named after a quotation about the events covered in that chapter, and with numerous eye-witness accounts reproduced (not to mention the maps preceding each chapter, or the - in some cases, full page - paintings at the end), it is interesting to see how his prose style carries over from fiction to non-fiction.I don't know (but doubt) whether this will replace any of the more scholarly (mostly dry) works on the battle, but I found this to be a thoroughly readable and interesting introduction to the events of June 1815.One thing, though: make sure you get the printed version, mainly due to the maps, illustrations, paintings, etc. less

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