'The merit of this volume is that it is not just mere fantasising on the theme of what might have been, but an expert analysis of all the pieces in a given military jigsaw puzzle .. absorbing.' – Frank McLynn in the Glasgow Herald reviewing The Napoleon Options: Alternative Decisions of the Napoleonic Wars edited by Jonathan North.
'A lavish and lasting work of art and reference source ... Lucien Rousselot's paintings, based on exhaustive archival research and actual uniform samples, have been hailed for their unparalleled accuracy and their convincing rendition of the soldiers of the French Army. Rousselot is considered by many to be the foremost artist and authority on the uniforms and armaments of the French Army ... His artwork exhibits an unsurpassed and uncanny ability to convincingly portray the cavalry troopers who wore the uniforms ... The book's price, considered against the 91 magnificent colour plates, amounts to about a dollar per plate. (Copies of a single plate from Rousselot's series can cost $10 dollars or more.) ... Napoleon's Elite Cavalry offers superb value and is highly recommended for students and scholars of the Napoleonic Wars as well as military historians, artists, wargamers and collectors.' – Napoleon (USA) reviewing Napoleon's Elite Cavalry: Cavalry of the Imperial Guard, 1804–1815. The Paintings of Lucien Rousselot. Text by Edward Ryan.
'Combining tremendous detail with an engaging style, Schur describes the hectic pace of the expedition which lasted only about three months, but featured three sieges, plus one naval and eight land battles. ... A first-rate account of the 61-day siege ... Napoleon in the Holy Land combines sound research, good writing, a useful bibliography, excellent maps, and interesting illustrations.' – Napoleon (USA) reviewing Napoleon in the Holy Land by Nathan Schur.
'An impressive work ... No other work to my knowledge covers this span of military activity in this detail ... Any good library of books on the Napoleonic period should contain some dictionaries and encyclopedias for quick and easy reference. The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book is a highly detailed work that should be included in such a collection. It will be referred to constantly.' – Paul Chamberlain in The Age of Napoleon reviewing The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book: Actions and Losses in Personnel, Colours, Standards and Artillery, 1792–1815 by Digby Smith.
'Extremely well illustrated ... if you are interested in modern warfare, whether you are a student, historian, serviceman or policeman, this inexpensive book should find a place on your library shelf.' – Max Sarche in Gun Mart reviewing Kalashnikov: Machine Pistols, Assault Rifles and Machine-Guns, 1945 to the Present (Greenhill Military Manuals) by John Walter.
'Absorbing selection of National Archives photographs, including colour.' – Wheels and Tracks reviewing War in Europe (G.I. Series).
"The fundamental question that must be answered in any book review is whether or not the author accomplished what he set out to do, which in this case was to give proper credit to the role of German troops, and in particular Field Marshal Blücher's Prussians, in defeating Napoleon during the Campaign of 1815. Here I think the answer is a definite yes. Hofschröer shows that the vast majority of the Allied soldiers fighting in the Netherlands in 1815 were German speakers, that these German troops were the most heavily engaged and suffered most casualties during [the] period 15–19 June, and that they also did most of the advancing and fighting in the race to Paris, while capturing most of the French fortresses along the way. ... I would particularly like to mention the excellent maps drawn especially for this volume and illustrating aspects of the campaign not generally found in other books' maps, including the strategic and tactical situations at various times during the 18th of June and also the sieges undertaken by German troops after Waterloo. All too often I see otherwise excellent books whose overall appeal is reduced by either a paucity of maps or poorly drawn ones. The maps in this books are so good that I would have no qualms about recommending the books simply for the maps alone! ... After reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the book, what is my overall evaluation? First of all, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in broadening his knowledge of the campaign of 1815 by becoming more familiar with the many excellent German eyewitness accounts of the campaign. I also think that this book provides the most detailed description available of the continuing Allied efforts against the French after 18 June 1815, and I certainly think that this book provides a valuable counterbalance to the many English-language Waterloo books that focus almost exclusively on Wellington's army when discussing the actions of the Allies. I would not, however, recommend Hofschröer's two-volume campaign history as the first books for someone to read on Waterloo, because he pre-supposes considerable familiarity with the events of June 1815 and his objective is not to provide a complete history of the campaign but to highlight the role of the German speaking forces. ... This book showcases the tremendous amount of research undertaken by the author, as well as his linguistic abilities in providing excellent translations of extensive passages of text by German eyewitnesses. ... I believe that this is a very important new book on the Waterloo campaign. While not without flaws, it nonetheless deserves a closer look by anyone seriously interested in this campaign.' – The Age of Napoleon reviewing 1815: The Waterloo Campaign – The German Victory by Peter Hofschröer. 'A major contribution to the reference literature of the war.' – Norman Polmar in Seapower (USA) reviewing German U-Boat Commanders of World War II by Rainer Busch and Hans-Joachim Röll.
''This book is a real treat for anyone interested in this vital part of the Naval War during WWII and is really well written by a man who is clearly an authority on the matter. Certainly one of the best books on the matter ever written. .. highly recommended.' – U-Boat Net reviewing Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty's Operational Intelligence Centre, 1939–1945 by Patrick Beesly. 'Recommended.' – Luftwaffe Verband reviewing German Jets 1944–1945 by Manfred Griehl (Luftwaffe at War Series).
'A good addition to your library.' – Luftwaffe Verband reviewing German Bombers Over England 1940–1944 by Manfred Griehl (Luftwaffe at War Series).
'A good addition to your library if you want fairly good coverage of Ju 87 operations in the Med.' – Luftwaffe Verband reviewing Stukas Over the Mediterranan 1940–1945 by Peter C. Smith (Lufwaffe at War Series).
Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 99 Table of Contents
Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 2000 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