Wellington's Hidden Heroes -
The Dutch and the Belgians at Waterloo
by Veronica Baker-Smith
A
PROS
- Good info about the Netherland Army in the campaign.
- Tackles erroneous myths
CONS
- Lacks battle-maps and 'Orders of Battle' for the Netherlands army units.
Imperial Sunset -
The Fall of Napoleon; 1813-1814
by R. F. Delderfield
A+
PROS
- Very thrilling and well told story of Napoleon's first downfall filled with significant historical details.
CONS
Could have been even better with more battle-maps.
Waterloo
by Commandant Henry Lachouque
A++
PROS
- Impressive large sized book
- vibrant written style describing the campaign from the 'French side'.
- Immense quantities of art and helpful campaign maps.
CONS
- None
The Longest Afternoon -
The 400 men who decided the Battle of Waterloo
by Brendan Simms
A
PROs
- One good map of the farmhouse
- Gripping account of the action during and after the fall of La Haye Sainte.
CONS
- No photos of the farmhouse
- No detailed maps showing unit actions
Uniforms at Waterloo
by Philip Haythornwaite
A+
PROS
- Another classic; featuring uniform illustrations of all the armies involved in the Waterloo campaign - including Swiss and Indian troops.
- Good battle-history information about various units along with their illustrations.
CONS
- May be a bigger size book would do the illustrations more justice.
Wellington's Smallest Victory
by Peter Hofschröer
B+
PROS
- Detailed exploration about the woes of Lt.Siborne in his journey to create a commissioned diorama of the Battle of Waterloo.
CONS
-Needed more full sized pictures instead of the many half-sized ones.
1815 The Armies at Waterloo
by Ugo Pericoli
A+
PROS
- Simply a must have quaint classic
- Though the book is indirectly associated with the 1970 'Waterloo' movie, it tells the Waterloo story,
- Vibrant uniform illustrations.
CONS
- Could have added some action scenes from the movie inside the book.
The Escape From Elba
by Norman Mackenzie
A++
PROS
- Classic account of Napoleon's departure from Elba told in an adventurous thriller style.
- Full of excellent maps
- Explores all the characters involved with accurate historical details.
CONS
- Not adding colour illustrations
waterloo-napoleon.com ©
The Waterloo Archives
- Multi-Book Collection
by Gareth Glover
A+++
PROs
- Featuring the journals, letters, and accounts of the Waterloo Campaign by those who were there.
- An indispensable must-have source of information.
- Lends an overdue ear to the soldiers tales of the experiences of war's brutality.
The Waterloo Companion
by Mark Adkins
A+
PROs
- Fantastic reference source.
- Large size
CONS
- Several small errors here and there;
ie, Why is Count Kellermann spelled always with only one 'n' at the end?
- Campaign story written without flair.
1815 - From Mobilisation to War
by Erwin Muilwijk
A+++
PROS
- Exciting FULL story of the Netherlands army during the 100 Days saga.
- Exceptional concise chapter structures.
- Fantastic Pictures Collection.
- One in a series of three equally resourceful books by the same author.
CONS
- None
The Anatomy of Glory
by Henry Lachouque
A++
PROS
- Marvelous history of Napoleon's Imperial Guard.
- Full of pictures.
CONS
- Screams for quality maps on par with the text and illustrations.
Borodino - Napoleon Against Russia, 1812
by Christopher Duffy
B+
PROS
- Rich with.informative content; great maps, awesome photos, and a handy order of battle.
- Flowing fast-paced writing style.
CONS
- Borodino Panorama paintings are in black and white; better if in colour.
Waterloo
- The French Perspective
by Andrew Field
A+++
PROS
- Superb collection of French memoirs
- Nicely organized chapters.
- Also adds non-French witness statements to perfectly balance the discussed events being portrayed.
CONS
- None
Guthrie's War
by Michael Crumplin
A+
PROS
- Thorough commentary on those unsung heroes who try to save and mend soldiers struck down in battles.
- Nicely organized chapters.
CONS
- Needed colour pictures to further emphasize the full inglorious gory horrors of Napoleonic warfare.
Napoleonic Art
by Barbara Ann Day Hickman
B+
PROS
- Fantastic presentation of a wide variety of Napoleonic period art; classical, propaganda, posters, satire, and more.
- Nice big sized book.
CONS
- More colour plates were needed.
Waterloo - A Near Run Thing
by David Howarth
B+
PROS
- Highly recommended as a good introduction book about the battle.
- Excellent for lighter historical reading.
CONS
- Not similar to contemporary full versions of the battle that explore actions in depth … more of a summarized collection of 'soldier's story' from just British and a French soldier's participation.
The News From Waterloo
by Brian Cathcart
A++
PROS
- Very strong in the story-telling of how the news of the Waterloo Campaign battle results were transmitted.
- A ton of interesting extras such as travel modes by land and sea, and long-range signaling devices of the period.
CONS
- Pictures could have been more full size,
Hougoumont
by Julian Paget and Derek Saunders
B+
PROS
- Wonderful smaller-scale write-up about the battle at Hougoumont.
- Great maps.
CONS
- Bigger sized book would be more impressive.
Waterloo Relics
by Gilles Bernard and Gerard Lachaux
A+
PROS
- Overflowing with excellent colour images
- Lovely large-size book.
- Intriguing narrative throughout the book.
CONS
- None
Napoleon's War in Spain
by H.Lachouque, J.Tranie,
J.C, Camigniani
A+
PROS
- Full of details and pictures
- Large-size book
- Epic war history is written very well.
CONS
- None
Napoleon's Last Will
and Testament
by Jean-Pierre Babelon
A++
PROS
- Excellent run-down of Napoleon's final wishes put into documents
- Copies of the letters are added
CONS
- Needed a few colour pictures added.
The Battle - A history of the Battle of Waterloo
by Alessandro Barbero
A++
PROS
- First-class presentation of the battle events in detail - the focus of the book
- Common-sense analysis throughout.
- Good section of clear maps at start.
- Nice quality image plates.
CONS
- Deserves a bigger size book format.
The Waterloo Campaign
by Albert A. Nofi
A
PROS
- Excellent narrative of the campaign.
- Interesting block-notes in chapters.
- Battle-maps are good on the whole
CONS
- The reproduced black and white images are very poor quality.
- A few battle-maps inexplicably omit the two Hanoverian brigades of Vincke and Best.
_%20nofi,%20albert%20a.jpg "the waterloo campaign by Albert Nofi book cover 1815")
Waterloo and Napoleonic Book Reviews
The Billy Ruffian
by David Cordingly
A-
PROS
- A well written history of the HMS Sophie, aka,Bellarophon / 'Billy Ruffian'
- Insightful extras on life at sea aboard this Royal Navy 74-gun ship-of-the-line.
CONS
- Could use colour images alongside its nice collection of black and white ones.
Marshal Ney -
Bravest of the Brave
by A.H. Atteridge
A+
PROS
- Well-told story on Ney's life.
- Rich with details.
CONS
- WHY NO IMAGES inside the book with so many relevant classics available for use.
The Economic History of the Caribbean since the Napoleonic Wars
by Thomas Bulm
B+
PROS
- Caribbean region's history from the 19th century and on in lavish details.
CONS
- Straight forward narrative = a dry read.
The Napoleonic Wars -
A Global History
by Alexander Mikaberidze
A+
PROs
- Vivid exploration of global events in the Napoleonic Era.
- Doesn't meander upon battle details.
CONS
- Immense number of pages
- Should be split as a two-book series
Waterloo 1815
- Captain Mercer's Journal
by Cavalie Mercer,
introduction by Bob Carruthers
A++
PROS
- A one-of-a-kind EPIC war journal.
- Nice assortment of illustrations.
CONS
- Needed maps showing Mercer's battle and campaign movements.
- Oddly lacks any British Artillery pictures.
Voices from the French Revolution
by Richard Cobb and Colin Jones
A+
PROS
- A thorough overview of the well-documented grisly revolution.
- Overflowing with colour pictures.
- God size book
CONS
- None
Reveries on the Art of War
by Maurice de Saxe
B
PROS
- Not Napoleonic Era, but covers the topic of early modern army rules and operation.
- Easy reading.
- It's a reminder of how 'military geniuses' typically simply improved existing warfare methods.
CONS
- Lacks having a preface by the editors.
Armies of the Napoleonic Wars
by Chris McNab
A-
PROS
- Nicely sized and info-loaded.
- Great resource for army references.
- Filled with Osprey-series illustrations.
CONS
- A bit jumbled in its page format.
Waterloo 1815
- Wavre to Plancenoit
by Peter Hofschroer
A-
PROs
- Intense narrative of the Prussian army's feats on June 18th.
- Detailed account of Blucher's advance onto Paris after Waterloo.
CONS
- The larger battle-maps needed much bigger text labels.
Swords Around A Throne
by John Elting
A++
PROs
- Fabulous source of details in this story of Napoleon's Army.
- Insights into related politics and the army's leaders.
CONS
- In want of a few colour pictures.
The Battle of Waterloo
by Peter and Dan Snow
A+
PROS
- Big size book
- Extra goodies included
- Lavish creation concept
CONS
- Overdone in its ambition
- Excess of the added interior envelopes makes page turning very clunky.
The Campaigns of Napoleon
by David Chandler
A++
PROS
- A Napoleonic Wars collection classic
- Excesses of details on the topic of wars.
CONS
- Not all Napoleonic Era French army campaigns are included.
24 Hours at Waterloo
by Robert Kershaw
A++
PROS
- Superb timeline format
- Dramatic narrative style
- Good Battle-maps.
CONS
- Needed pictures
- Battle maps needed more clarity.
Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne 1812-1813
by Adrien Bourgogne,
compiled by Paul Cottin
A+
PROS
- Harrowing tale of surviving the retreat from Moscow.
- Very interesting recollection details such as sighting the 7th Neapolitan Royal African regiment.
CONS
- A map of the trek needed.
Dancing into Battle - A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo
by Nick Foul
A
PROS
- Delving into social status of the times, accentuated more so by the dramatic changes of fortunes during the Waterloo Campaign. The privileged having more options available to them.
CONS
- None
The Hussar General - The Life of Blücher - Man of Waterloo
by Roger Parkinson
B+
PROS
- A good story of the Field Marshal's life and the army he proudly led in his various campaigns.
- Interesting from start to finish.
CONS
- Glaring errors in some places; such as incorrectly naming Bulow's formation as the II Corps in the Waterloo Chapter.
On Waterloo - Clausewitz, Wellington, and the Campaign of 1815
edited by
C.Bassford, D.Moran, G. Perlow
A+
PROS
- Easy reading.
- Covers the entire Hundred Days in depth to augment the campaign.
CONS
- More maps would help support the descriptions of strategic operations.
The Prisoners of Cabrera
- Napoleon's Forgotten Soldiers 1809 - 1814
by Denis Smith
A+
PROS
- Reflecting on the era's abysmal and cruel POW systems.
- A Devil's Island style existence is recounted in detail.
- Added critic; officials' unaccountability
CONS
- None.
The Illustrious Dead
by Stephan Talty
A-
PROS
- Solid researched account of the deterioration of Napoleon's army in the retreat from Moscow.
- Focus on the impact of Typhus
CONS
- Campaign and battle maps are somewhat underdone.
- Could use illustration plates.
The Fall of Napoleon
-The Final Betrayal
by David Hamilton-Williams
A
PROS
- Well told story of the end of the Napoleonic Era.
- Very good maps.
CONS
- Black and white plates are poorly reproduced.
The Final Act
- The Roads to Waterloo
by Gregor Dallas
A+
PROS
- Brilliant story of the Hundred Days and the Congress of Vienna.
- Excellent chapter sections..
- Nice placings of illustrations.
CONS
- Colour Plates would have been a good bonus.
The Napoleonic Source Book
by Philip J. Haythornwaite
B++
PROS
- Very compact reference book
- Helpful segmenting of topics.
CONS
- A bit chaotic in the illustration placements within the texts.
Ompteda
of the King's German Legion
His journals compiled by his grandson, Christian von Ompteda
A
PROS
- A sad tale of a full life cruelly cut short.
- Covers in detail, the hectic combat in Wellington's center in the evening of the battle surrounding Ompteda's death..
CONS
- Definitely needed at least one battle-map.
Napoleon's Waterloo Army
by Paul Dawson
illustrations by Keith Rocco
A++
PROS
- Sterling reference book for uniforms and equipment in the 1815 Campaign.
- Gorgeous illustrations.
CONS
- None
