More Reviews of On Wellington: The Duke and His Art of War by Jac Weller 'This is a charming collection of essays; simple and unaffected, almost conversational in tone, they reflect as much the humanity of the author as that of Wellington himself ... It may well be that, as in the case of John Keegan, [Weller's] greatness as a military commentator, his insight, his perceptiveness and his understanding lie, paradoxically, in the absence of practical experience; there is a matter-of-factness, perhaps a humility, certainly a generosity unencumbered by prejudice, which create a dimension that is denied to the Liddell Harts and the Fullers of this world. The essays in On Wellington: The Duke and his Art of War address different aspects of Wellington's military campaigns in a successful attempt to show how and why he was such a masterly commander. ... Wellington's unique – at the time – understanding of the value of a hearts-and-minds dimension in any successful military campaign is well brought out in [Weller's] study of his pacification operation in Mysore. His practical wisdom and judgement, his strategic vision and tactical accumen are apparent in essays on his relations with his guerrilla allies, on the conduct of his eclectic intelligence network and on his inventive employment of his engineers; as well as in a delightful piece about the reverse-slope position on Busaco ridge. ... This is indeed the magic of the essays; after reading them, you will understand much more intimately the realities of Wellington's campaigns, and both the clarity and the complexity of his character. ... These essays have been brilliantly edited by Andrew Uffindell, who has added excellent introductory notes to each article, and comprehensive footnotes.' – Major General Charles Vyvyan in the Times Literary Supplement 'This book should make Wellington's partisans very very happy. ... A difficult book to assess, Weller loved history, personally tramping the scenes of the battles and campaigns he described ... to him Wellington was the perfect battle captain ... he wrote easily and well; yet he remained as much hero-worshipper as historian ... An interesting book, and in some ways useful – but keep your salt shaker handy.' – John Elting in the Napoleonic Alliance Gazette (USA) 'Of immense value to Napoleonic scholars, offering as it does first hand insight into the events of those turbulent years ... the events of some 180+ years ago appear as fresh as if they had just occurred.' – John S. White in The Waterloo Journal reviewing A Soldier for Napoleon: The Campaigns of Lieut. Franz Joseph Hausman, 7th Bavarian Infantry. 'A superb historical account.' – The Jerusalem Post reviewing Napoleon in the Holy Land by Nathan Schur. More Reviews of 1815: The Waterloo Campaign Wellington, His German Allies and the Battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras by Peter Hofschröer 'Performs a valuable service ... Hofschröer is correct to draw attention to command flaws and faults on 15–16 June, 1815, but it is less clear that he demonstrates his case about Wellington's perfidy ... This is a book of considerable scholarship but a questionable thesis.' – Professor Jeremy Black, University of Exeter in War in History 'Peter Hofschröer is an expert in this field, having written two well-received books on the Prussian and Hanoverian forces of the Napoleonic era ... This is a generally well researched and well written tome about the Prussian contribution to victory.' – Army History: The Professional Bulletin of Army History (USA) 'We have long needed more studies from the 'other side' to flesh out the history of the Napoleonic Wars. Peter Hofschröer presents the preliminary battles of the Waterloo campaign from the Prussian angle, which is a service, and the book should be welcomed, even though the author has some extreme opinions. ... Hofschröer gives excellent and detailed accounts of the little-known battles prior to Ligny, and of Ligny and Quatre Bras (16th June). ... The book is a valuable addition to the history of the Waterloo Campaign, though flawed by Hofschröer's attempts to besmirch Wellington's reputation.' – Owen Connelly in The International History Review 'An essential book, deeply and carefully researched, that will ring the hearts of Wellington partisan. While Hofschröer writes from a German viewpoint, he deals bluntly with Prussian ambitions, command blunders, and the state of the Prussian Army. His major weakness is his failure to give tall weight to French blunders ... Descriptions of combat come from German official reports as Hofschröer allows 'one sided and not the whole story' – and so should be taken cum grano salis.' – John Elting in the Napoleonic Alliance Gazette (USA) 'Hofschröer's book is the first comprehensive English-language evaluation of the German contribution to the allied victory. ... This is a book for the serious student who already has a general knowledge of the Waterloo campaign. It is not quick reading; Hofchröer's often argumentative, sometimes repetitious style, combined with the detailed information he presents, requires concentration. Given that, his work is deeply rewarding, Hofchröer's second volume will be published in 1999 under the stimulating title: 1815: The Waterloo Campaign: German Victory.' – John Elting in Parameters (USA) 'Superb presentation and artwork ... It is a very easy book to read, you can open it at any page and find absorbing historic material ... if your interest lies with the American military then this book will prove of great value, not only for the re-enactor or modeller, but also for the military historian and general reader. I am very enthusiastic about this publication, not only for its engrossing subject content, its excellent presentation, and its first class illustrations which include a selection of some of the best colour plates I have ever seen, but also because it is engaging reading. Despite the fact that there are many books on the subject, I rate this one as one of the best to date.' – Military Modelcraft International reviewing Don Troiani's Soldiers in America (Stackpole Books). 'Concord Publications can always be relied on for excellent pictorial books and this photo essay of tank battles of the Middle East is no exception. Written by Steven Zaloga, the reader is assured of a good informative text, which is supported by really first-class black and white photographs and detailed colour plates – a book for the armoured fighting vehicle enthusiasts, be they modeller or historian.' – Military Modelcraft International reviewing Tank Battles of the Mid-East Wars (Concord). 'A most absorbing, educational and entertaining book.' – Military Modelcraft International reviewing German Secret Weapons of the Second World War by Ian V. Hogg. 'The illustrations which comprise the heart of the book are excellent, well reproduced, and informatively captioned ... Langellier is a recognised expert on American army uniforms, and the captions display his expertise ... Langellier is an excellent guide through this maze of varied uniforms and equipment ... This inexpensive volume is highly recommended for anyone interested in American artillery.' – The Coast Defence Study Group Journal (USA) reviewing Redlegs: The U.S. Artillery from the Civil War to the Spanish–American War by John Langellier (G.I. Series). 'Not only is this good military history, it is high drama. It is very instructive for professional soldiers today. Staff organization, planning, and functioning, combat leadership, logistics, task organization, low and high intensity warfare, maneuver warfare, tactics and strategy are all included in this study written by a soldier for student-soldiers. Well-researched and very accurate, it not only captures the sweep of the epoch, but it outlines the very essence of the military art in clear, soldierly terms. ... In the Introduction there is an excellent overview of tactics, strategy, weapons of the period and the main branches of the service, but it is necessarily brief. There is a very valuable section of biographical sketches of the French Marshals and outstanding generals, as well as opponents and political figures. ... This book is a must to understand the Grande Armée's campaigns, its commander, and the Emperor himself. It needs to be on the Commandant's Reading List, for if we are to study Napoleon's campaigns and way of waging war, this is the book to use. More instructive than any operational history before or since, it is a companion to Col. Elting's Swords Around A Throne (an organizational history of the Grande Armée), which was first published in 1988. Few books on any historical period are as well-researched and written with such sweep, accuracy, and downright common sense.' – Marine Corps Gazette (Kevin Riley) reviewing A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars by Brigadier General Vincent J. Esposito and Colonel John R. Elting. 'This book's detailed coverage will invite enthusiastic sniping from all factions, but it has two major strengths – it provides an overall "war room" picture, showing the Emperor's whole military situation at any one time - and it provides a guide and springboard for more detailed research.' – John Elting in The Napoleonic Alliance Gazette (USA) reviewing The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book by Digby Smith. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 91 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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