As a 'first' from Greenhill, we are including in our new Greenhill Military Paperbacks series a book about the Napoleonic Wars. The book, anticipated as the first of a number on the Napoleonic Wars to be published in trade paperback in the years to come, is the classic adventure book The Note-Books of Captain Coignet: Soldier of the Empire, 1799-1816. David Chandler reviews this book saying that it is 'a colourful source of first-hand information'. Coignet's memoirs, rightly regarded as being among the best of the Napoleonic period, create an abiding impression of life in the armies of Napoleon. An active soldier throughout the Napoleonic Wars, Coignet witnessed the major events of the era and set them down in a thoroughly readable and inspirational account that has easily withstood the tests of time. He leaves a powerful record of his life and adventures and paints a vivid portait not only of Napoleon but also of the soldiers who fought and died for their Emperor. His own lively sense of humour and remarkably detailed observations on human nature pervade the book and make for the captivating story of an individual surviving, sometimes only just, the rise and fall of empires. Coignet's remarkable career as a soldier began first in Italy, as a conscript in 1800, and he went on to participate in all the major campaigns. He fought at Austerlitz and Jena, was present at the taking of Madrid and of Vienna, he managed to survive both the appalling advance to and retreat from Moscow, and later fought at Leipzig. He took part in both the French and Waterloo campaigns, narrowly avoiding capture at Waterloo itself. Also to be available in paperback is Albert A. Nofi's successful The Waterloo Campaign from Combined Publishing (distributed by Greenhill). Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 82 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com