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'The battle of Waterloo
is both one of the most decisive in history and the most
difficult to describe. Andrew
Roberts,
by prodigous research and by virtue of a clean, well-argued
analysis, has produced the most convincing description of
that fearsome day I have ever read. It should remain the
most authoritative account for many years.'
Paul Johnson
Andrew
Roberts's Waterloo is a small masterpiece. The proportions
of his painting (unlike many other histories, this is a painting
rather than a
sculpture) are near-perfect, telling and just. Roberts's
main talents have been demonstrated in his political histories,
Waterloo is a military history of a high order.'
John Lukacs
‘By painting broad brush-strokes, and
avoiding unnecessary detail, Roberts gives us a typically
concise, pacy and well-argued account that puts many of its
predecessors to shame. Clearly and honestly presented, with
due regard for other historians’ work, it represents
a masterly synthesis of the latest scholarship.’
Saul
David, Sunday Telegraph
‘In the case of Waterloo, the ground is everything,
and Roberts shows himself an absolute master of it. Roberts’s
prose is as lively as the action he describes; he is comprehensive
in his survey of Waterloo historiography, and generous in
his attributions. This is altogether a masterly synthesis,
a veritable deforestation of what too often obscures the
wood of Waterloo.’
Allan Mallinson, The Spectator
‘One of the bonuses of Andrew Roberts’s frustratingly
short but well-written account of the engagement is the way
in which he dispatches myths thrown up by claim and counter-claim.
Canards are shot with aplomb. Roberts writes with great clarity
about the shape, progress and tactics of the battle.’
Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times
‘ Andrew Roberts has amply demonstrated
why Napoleon lost in this short but wonderfully lucid account.
He tells us all we need to know about the strategy and
tactics and maintains a felicitous balance between narrative
and
analysis. Above all, he imposes order on what all present
remembered as nine terrifying hours of chaos, during which
few had any idea of what was happening outside their immediate
vision. Each phase of the fighting is detailed and Roberts
dissects the judgments of commanders at all levels without
the irritating intrusion of hindsight.’
Lawrence James, London Evening Standard
‘This elegantly produced book, with good maps and photographs,
would be a perfect introduction to those who are starting on the endless interest in
Waterloo but it also has new aspects for those who already have a lifetime’s involvement.
Andrew Roberts has followed his excellent ‘Napoleon and Wellington’ with this equally
excellent account of the battle, relatively short but lively and thoughtful.’
Elizabeth Deverell, The Waterloo Journal
‘In this admirably concise and spirited book, Roberts
shows how Napoleon broke all his own rules of warfare and
was ill served by his commanders. Roberts mixes just the
right amount of specific anecdote and human detail into his
analysis of how this extraordinary battle unfolded.’
Christopher
Silvester, Daily Express
‘Roberts always has something original to say, and
here he presents a concise account. Its brevity has an
advantage. It is of ideal length to read on a Eurostar train
to Brussels
on the way to visit the haunted battlefield.’
Tom Pocock, Literary Review
‘ Andrew Roberts covers the five distinct phases of
the battle with panache, and he touches on all of the major
areas of controversy that make Waterloo so fascinating. It
is the first in a new series of short books dealing with
dramatic ‘turning points’ in history. If subsequent
volumes turn out to be as readable and illuminating as this,
then the exercise will have been worthwhile.’
Simon Shaw,
Mail on Sunday
‘ Andrew Roberts's new book takes the reader back
to a war zone that resembles the big paintings. Although
Mr Roberts does write about the difficulties of battlefield
communications (the Duke of Wellington kept losing the aides
de camp whose job it was to convey his orders and ended up
relying on passers-by), Napoleon and Wellington are definitely
directing the picture, rather than sitting in the back row
munching popcorn. It is also unashamedly grand. So much so
that the soldiers sometimes seem to have been displaced from
a 1950s Hollywood epic. Mr Roberts has one British general "shot
through the right temple with the words 'Charge! Charge!
Hurrah' upon his lips." ‘
The Economist
‘ Roberts' original contribution
to historical contingency - for such an exhaustively studied
battle, his
research,
amazingly enough, turned up new evidence - is that a cavalry
charge by Marshal Ney, possibly the gravest error the French
made during the battle, was a spontaneous assault rather
than an intended one. Smoothly integrating the what-ifs
into the chronology, Roberts joins the essential facts about
Waterloo,
such as its area and relief, the soldiers and arms available,
and the weather, to the morale of individual units involved.
Emphasizing the courage and fear that rippled over the
battlefield during its daylong course, Roberts instills an
appreciation
for Waterloo as a horrific experience saturated with alternative
possible outcomes. A must for the military shelf.’
Booklist, USA
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