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 of 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.

- Highly recommended to acquire the larger softcover version.rather than the smaller hard cover edition.  

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.

Waterloo

by Bernard Cornwell

C

PROS

- A lot of info

- Stunningly gorgeous battle maps

CONS

- Scant references to Dutch-Belgian witness accounts compared to British,

- Laden with immature biases

- Description of battle sequences is erroneous in many places.

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.

Uniforms of the Armies

of Waterloo

- Multi-book Collection

authors: Markus Gartner & Markus Stein

Artwork by Charles James Lyall (1904)

A+++

PROS

- Superb art collection of military uniforms

- Wonderfully detailed accompanying text

- Well-researched commentaries

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.

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

1815 - From Mobilisation to War

-  Multi-book Collection

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

Waterloo: French Perspective

-  Multi-book Collection

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

The Campaign of 1815

-  Multi-book Collection

by Pierre de Wit

 A+++

PROS

- Exceptional historical knowledge

- Massive wealth of reference sources.

- Fantastic Pictures Collection.

- Lovely location photos.

CONS 

-  Lack of battle and campaign maps

BUT - COMING SOON: will be one of the most popular Waterloo Collector books ever:

THE WATERLOO CAMPAIGN ATLAS volume

Waterloo: Making of an Epic

by Simon Lewis

B-

PROS

- Full of stories related to the production of the 1970 movie 'WATERLOO'

- Interesting stories

CONS

- Too info heavy and not categorized very cohesively as topics jump around.

- Bad black and photos, and no colour photos at all.

- Pointless addition of an error-riddled history chapter of the campaign itself.

Waterloo Battlefield Guide

by David Buttery

A+

PROS

- Lovely guide in compact format

- Wonderful pictures and maps

CONS

- None

Waterloo: The Battlefield Guide

by Andrew Uffindell & Michael Corum

B+

PROS

- Nice and handy, slim booklet size

- Good overview of the battlefield

CONS

- Needed a few colour pictures added.

Wellington : Years of the Sword

by Elizabeth Longford

A

PROS

- Classic reputable study on Wellington in his military life.

CONS

- None

Waterloo 1815

- Ospret Campaign Series (#287)

- Multi-Volume Collection)

by John Franklin
illustrated by Gerry Embleton

A

PROS

- Nicely written account

- Very good maps and illustrations

CONS

- None.

Becke's Waterloo Logistics

edited by Stephen Summerfield
Ken Trotman Publishing

A-

PROS

- Exceptionally unique in its collection o of fascinating details related to the Waterloo Campaign - including topography, maps, armies , etc

- Exploration of key events and situations in depth.

CONS

- None

The Eagles Last Triumph

by Andrew Uffindell

A

PROS

- Very good study of the battle of Ligny

- Nice analysis related to key events.

CONS

- Not a very detailed account of the battle.

- Too much of the book is focussing on before and after the day of battle.