Waterloo: The Battle That Brought Down Napoleon

Waterloo: The Battle That Brought Down Napoleon

by JeremyBlack (Author)

Synopsis

A masterly and concise reinterpretation of one of the seminal events in modern history, by one of the world's foremost military historians. The battle on Sunday 18th June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium was to be Napoleon's greatest triumph - but it ended in one of the greatest military upsets of all time. Waterloo became a legend overnight and remains one of the most argued-over battles in history. Lord Wellington immortally dubbed it 'the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life,' but the British victory became iconic, a triumph of endurance that ensured a 19th century world in which Britain played the key role; it was also a defining moment for the French, bringing Napoleon I's reign to an end and closing the second Hundred Years' War. Alongside the great drama and powerful characters, Jeremy Black gives readers a fascinating look at where this battle belongs in the larger story of the tectonic power shifts in Europe, and the story of military modernisation. The result is a revelatory view of Waterloo's place in the broader historical arc.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Publisher: Icon Books Ltd
Published: 31 Mar 2011

ISBN 10: 1848312334
ISBN 13: 9781848312333

Media Reviews
'A splendidly lucid account that places the Battle of Waterloo squarely in its proper historical context.' -- Andrew Roberts
'An immensely stimulating book that makes the reader consider the great battle afresh - an exhilarating ride.' -- War Books Review
'A wonderful example of a micro-history of one battle, re-contextualised as a decisive battle in the history of Europe but also, and more crucially, as a landmark in the history of warfare.' -- Military History Journal
Author Bio
Jeremy Black is professor of History at the University of Exeter and is one of the world's leading military historians. The author of over seventy books, especially on eighteenth century British politics and international relations, Black graduated from Queens' College, Cambridge, and did postgraduate work at St John's and Merton at Oxford.