Editor's Note:- When I heard that Spellmount was reprinting Gunter Rothenberg's Napoleon's Great Adversaries, on Dave Hollins' suggestion, I asked him to produce a quick resume on why he felt the idea had merit. A full review will follow.

I have also asked Paul Chamberlain to use his contacts with the many publishers of Napoleonic reprints to offer them the same opportunities. In case they are worried that this particular reprint has got a competition with prizes of the book attached to it, they needn't worry, it will not be mandatory! We could also extend it by contributors arguing why their favourite book could bear reprinting, in the hope that someone takes it up.

The start of the bicenterinials has brought a whole series of reprints, notably of memoirs and the popular campaign histories by English writers such as Petre and Oman. We are also seeing a wide range of revisionist works and others going into great detail on fairly well trodden subjects. In amongst all this, it is easy for those of us, who have been involved in the hobby for some years, to forget what it was like to start out and how keen we were to find a good starting point - that still remains the philosophy behind Osprey's books for example.

The last 5 or 6 years especially, have seen great change in the Napoleonic hobby, as interest has concentrated more on Napoleon's Continental campaigns. There has been particular focus on the 1809 campaign, which saw some of the biggest and bloodiest battles of the period, and the 1813-14 Wars of Liberation, including the biggest battle of all, Leipzig. As a result, a number of books have been published about these campaigns, but while enthusiasts are fairly familiar with the French army, most know little of the opposition. As a result, many old myths get repeated about the Austrian army in particular, but more importantly, questions are raised by newer enthusiasts, which can only be answered properly in terms of the background history.

Many enthusiasts will also have experienced the frustration of reading a vague reference to a personality, troop type or tactic, but find they can't get further details easily. As Paul Chamberlain mentioned in the Dusty Archive in AoN16, a collection of handy guides is invaluable, even if not wholly focused on your particular interest. However, many are currently out-ofprint. The growing strength of all aspects of the hobby is thus turning the demand back towards basic guides. There have been regular reprints of works such as Dr. Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon, his Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars and Colonel John Elting's Swords Around A Throne, as well as newer material such as George Nafziger's uniform guides.

In the back of most books about the Continental campaigns is a reference to Dr. Rothenberg's Napoleon's Great Adversaries: Archduke Charles & the Austrian Army 1792-1814, published in 1982 by Batsford in London. It was intended then as the first of a series of books looking at the 'nuts and bolts' of the major nations opposing Napoleon. As a series, it never went any further, but Dr. Rothenberg's book has remained the standard guide to Austria's army ever since. However, those not involved in the hobby in the early 80s must be experiencing some problems accessing it. I have twice tried to get it from Ken Trotman recently for feltow enthusiasts, but have been beaten to it.

Austria's army proved to be France's most dogged opponent throughout the 1792-1815 period, taking part in some way in all the major campaigns except 1807 and the Peninsula. This book is therefore being reprinted by the up and coming Spellmount, now run by Jamie Wilson. It is intended to be both a guide for all enthusiasts, (especially for those primarily interested in the French opposition), and a basis for further reading for those who would like to look further into the Imperial Army.

As well as modifying the title slightly to Napoleon's Great Adversary, a few changes have been made. These include the addition of a map of the Empire showing its extent and location of the provinces, together with a new cover showing Otterifeld's picture of infantry in the familiar helmets. The print face has been enlarged and the book reindexed to make both referencing and reading the many tables of information easier (the latter being particularly useful for wargamers). At 18.95 pounds, the reprint is cheaper in real terms than the 1982 original (9.95), especially for readers in countries with stronger currencies than our own rather feeble Pound Sterling.

Outlining the army's organisation and troops as well as their campaigns, the book places the military in the political context of the time in a clear style accessible to all readers. It is offered in the same spirit as George Nafziger's latest work A Guide to Napoleonic Warfare, which covers the basic regulations and tactics of Austria and the other major nations. All enthusiasts, be they wargamers, re-enactors or researchers will have in this pair of books a handy guide to the army which fought Napoleon in Italy and along the Danube.

If you feel other texts are worthy of reprinting, then do approach the specialist hobby publishers. Bear in mind that it is up to you to make out a good case for publication as publishers can't be familiar with all subjects. Ask yourself what the book has got going for it specifically, e.g. as a guide or a famous work. What else has been produced on this subject recently, as any cross-over will reduce likely sales.

In particular, look for gaps in material currently being published, especially where these new books place heavy reliance on the proposed reprint, and of course, what anniversaries will help with marketing the book. Tell them what you want, but also support these guides, so that the publishers will produce more of them and enable enthusiasts to build up a decent collection relatively inexpensively.