Customer Reviews

The Campaigns of Napoleon

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is, without question, the best single volume reference in English on the campaigns of Napoleon. This book is not perfect, and I would agree with some of the negative points made by other reviewers, but I cannot understand how anyone would give this less than five stars. There is simply no other book that is even comparable to this one. This book is to the Napoleonic Wars what Shelby Foote's series is to the American Civil War, absolutely indispensible for any serious (amateur or professional) historian or student of the era.

This book is really three books in one: it is partly a biography of Napoleon, partly an analysis of his art of war, and partly a history of his campaigns. It covers NBs youth, his meteoric rise to prominance after the French Revolution, and every campaign that he participated in. I've read this book cover to cover three times, and individual chapters so many times that I've lost count. Chandler's writing style is engrossing and easy to read, not dry summaries of facts and events and dates. He is both a great writer and a great historian.

My (or others') disagreements with Chandler on individual points simply do not detract from this masterly work. I would agree, however, that this book is very Anglo-centric, probably its biggest drawback. Historians are often looking for `balance' in their assessments, and it is in this area that Chandler is weakest. I think he overplays the role of the English in ultimately defeating Napoleon, although this is a problem with virtually everthing that has been written about Napoleon by the English. Oddly, I would also agree that Chandler treats Napoleon with almost hero worship. Too much hyperbole perhaps, but this is more of a literary criticism of the text rather than historical. One negative comment that other reviewers have made regarding this book is that it is either factually incorrect or incomplete/not sufficiently detailed, etc. These are insignificant criticisms in my view. There are no gross historical errors in this book, either in facts or in interpretation, to my knowledge. If you want a balanced, broad view of any historical era, you must read a variety of primary and secondary sources. In the case of the Napoleonic wars, you must read French, German, and Russian sources as well. This book is not the only word on the subject, but the best written in English. This is the BEST book on the subject, this is one of the best histories ever written, even if neither perfect nor exhaustive.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is WELL worth the money to purchase it and the time spent to read it. If I had to throw out all but ten of my books, this is one of the ten I would keep. I would recommend this book to someone who is not particularly interested in the era, much as I would Foote's series. Don't pay any attention to the reviewers who have given this book less than five stars, they are niggling over trifles. This is an outstanding book.

David Chandler provides a thorough review of Napoleon's 60 battles. He demonstrates that Napoleon, while not an innovator in tactics, was nonetheless a master of innovations developed by others and was capable of great innovation. The subject, of course, is extremely broad, and as long as this book is, it could have been much longer. Chandler omits a great deal of biographical detail about Napoleon to concentrate on his development as a military leader. Indeed, if you find this book too long to read or expensive to buy, I suggest getting a copy from the library and just reading the chapter that gives an overview for how Napoleon went about conducting his campaigns.

I do not agree with those who say that Chandler exhibits a British bias. He clearly sees Napoleon as the greatest military leader of his time, and perhaps of all time. In other writings, he has soundly rejected comparisons made by other historians between Hitler and Napoleon. Moreover, he makes clear that, at least in the early years of his leadership, Napoleon was not to blame for the wars that engulfed Europe.

Finally, despite the length of the book, I found it to be extremely readable, and not hard to finish at all.

Could even Shakespeare have imagined the triumph and tragedy that marked the life of Napoleon Bonaparte?

Like Caesar, Napoleon rose from obscurity and through sheer determination, utter ruthlessness, and all-consuming ambition to become the ruler of the most powerful nation on earth. And like Caesar, Napoleon's moment of triumph was short-lived, although the Waterloo campaign gave Napoleon the second chance his predecessor could only dream of.

David G. Chandler is that rarest of historians who combines the dogged research skills of a born academic with the light writing touch of a master storyteller. While this work is enormous in both detail and scope, it is eminently readable, each page filled with the wonders of the Napoleonic Era.

Far from pure biography, Chandler attempts to unravel the genius of Napoleon and explain the man and his times in terms even the military layman can understand. The longevity of this work (published 1973) attests to the success of this endeavor.

This book is an excellent choice for the budding military enthusiast, the Napoleonic fanatic, or the reader who wishes to begin his introduction to one of the great captains of history with the finest monograph ever published on the subject. Lavishly illustrated with maps, photographs, and drawings, you'll find The Campaigns of Napoleon to be simply the most accessible work on on of history's great men.

Vive L'Empereur! Vive Chandler!

Whilst browsing around a bookshop one day I stumbled across a book by John Elting called "Swords around a throne- Napoleon's Grande Armee". It looked pretty interesting and as I had no inkling about Napoleon or his Grande Armee I decided to buy the book. After reading it again and again I was hooked!!! I needed more info about the great man and his campaigns. Which brings me to "The Campaigns of Napoleon" by David Chandler.

I read numerous reviews and all indications were that this was THE book to get on the subject. Well let me say I was not disappointed. This must be the best one volume treatment of Napoleon and how he wielded his Grande Armee! The book is very thorough and comprehensive...not for beginners. I found I had to read it twice to fully comprehend what was going on. This led me to buy Elting and Esposito's "A military history and atlas of the napoleonic wars". This book desribed step by step with excellent maps what Chandler had described and more since it dealt with all the napoleonic campaigns and not just the ones in which Napoleon had been involved as does Chandler's work.

All in all the above three books are must haves. Swords around a throne describes Napoleon's weapons- his Grande Armee, Campaigns of Napoleon describes the history of his use of the weapon and the atlas desribes how he used it in detail. Get all three!!!

For anybody wanting just one book to discover the Napoleonic Wars, this has to be the one. It is comprehensive, well written and has many useful maps. As such, it is a most useful purchase.

Although it was first written over thirty years ago and is a little dated, no attempts to supercede it have ever been successful. I suspect this work will remain a standard text for at least the next thirty years as well.

Like all books, it has it faults. There are those that complain about it being anglocentric. Well, Chandler is British by birth and a graduate of Oxford, so it would be surprising if it wasn't. Would the book have been any better if it had been francocentric or sinocentric? Probably not.

There are those that complain that Chandler sees Napoleon as a 'great man, but a great bad man'. It is suprising how many people admire grabbing, egocentric dictators that bring enormous suffering to the world. (I know, he left so many legacies to the world, like a legal system, roads, etc. but did so many people have to die for that?) The fact that Chandler devotes such a massive tome to the man surely indicates a little more than dislike?

There are those that whine about minor errors of fact and typrographic errors in this book. Well, if they can do better, they should try.

There are also those who complain about a lack of original research. Well, I challenge anybody to write such a massive tome based on primary sources only and complete it in one lifetime. That criticism is banal, to say the least.

In all, a great classic, the best place to start for beginners to this period, a work that is not likely to be surpassed for some time, but not without a few minor faults.

Dr. David G. Chandler's "The Campaigns of Napoleon" has been in print for over thirty years. There must be some reason why it has remained so important and popular. In simple terms it is a masterpiece. In fact it has on numerous occasions been recognized as one of the most important books on Napoleon throughout modern times. It has of late been recognized by le Général de Gaulle in 1967 and later in 2002 by President Vladimir Putin.

David, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of London and "the doyen of modern Napoleonic historians", is the former Head of the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He is also the author of numerous other books including: Napoleon, Napoleon's Marshals and Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars.

Each of the aforementioned works will be reviewed in time. However, this in-depth review is concerned primarily with the exceptional and scientific achievement of Dr. Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon.

The work is extensive and covers over 1216 pages and weighs nearly 4 pounds. The text, however, is not fluff but is full of the most scholarly data found on the 60 battles of Napoleon's Campaigns. The book, although large is extremely readable and possesses a clarity of presentation and understanding. David attempted in this extensive work to cover with great detail every aspect of Napoleon's military career. Alas at times the work is a little dry but never boring. The text easily carries the reader from page to page and chapter to chapter. The work never missed its mark.

According to the Editorial Reviews "Napoleonic war was nothing if not complex -- an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of moves and intentions, which by themselves went a long way towards baffling and dazing his conventionally-minded opponents into that state of disconcerting moral disequilibrium which so often resulted in their catastrophic defeat."

David seems to paint a vivid historical picture which brings the reader closer with each page to the thoughts, feeling and decisions of Napoleon. An extensive analysis of the campaigns aids the reader in clarifying Napoleon's military intelligence and war strategies.

Some reviewers state that due to Chandlers' British rearing he was bias and always against the decisions of Napoleon and Napoleon the man. However, I believe that the author saw Napoleon as one of the most important men in military history. I see the book as a well balanced thesis on the various textures and colours of Napoleon the man and the varied aspects of the Napoleonic war. It is certainly not bias.

"The book opens with a brief account of Bonaparte's early years, his military education and formative experiences, and his meteoric rise to the rank of general in the army of the Directory. Introducing the elements of Napoleonic "grand tactics" as they developed in his Italian, Egyptian, and Syrian campaigns, Mr. Chandler shows how these principles were clearly conceived as early as the Battle of Castiglione, when Napoleon was only twenty -six. Several campaigns later, he was Emperor of France, busily constructing the Grande Armée."

A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars by Brigadier General Esposito and Colonel Elting, although in some ways a more descriptive work on Napoleon's military campaigns, merely assists in filling in any gaps which Dr. Chandler may have missed. It is NOT better, just different. Neither book, regardless of its size is a true definitive work on the campaigns. Smaller works, containing only one campaign, although providing greater individual campaign insight do not possess the broad balance and military contrast needed to gain any true awareness of the military achievements of Napoleon.

The book is an excellent reference tool and should be on the bookshelf of any Napoleonic historian. However I also, like Kevin F. Kiley, noted the questionable references used including: "Jomini's work, Liddell Hart's dubious tomes, Marmont's and MacDonald's memoirs, and the dubious memoirs of Bourrienne, which are mendacious and quite worthless, as well as Thiebault's inaccurate ghost written memoirs"

I fear, however, to give this books a bad review shows ignorance of the topic, a poor reading of the text or a total lack of interest in Napoleon. As Gerald Tamura stated in his review, "Most who do will not need to buy another book that covers Napoleon's entire military career. They can spend their hard earned money buying books on Napoleon's individual campaigns, battles, personalities and naval warfare."

Dr. Carl Edwin Lindgren, DEd
Prof of Military History
Member of the Royal Historical Society & Fellow of the International Napoleonic Society

Mr. Chandler is English and does not delight as Americans do in a young republic kicking around the old European nobility. That said, this work is an attempt to cover 20 years of war in one volume. It would take 20 books by various authors to replace it, and therefore is the best starting point for those who do not want to take the time and money to build a personal library on the subject. Note, this is a military history, so it is strong on the movements of corps and divisions and light on Josephine etc.

This is a review of the KINDLE EDITION.

The hardcover print edition of this book is 1,100 pages long and weighs 4.2 lbs. So one can see the significant advantage of reading it on a Kindle DX. However, there are two major disappointments with the Kindle edition.

1) NO ABLE OF CONTENTS. Are you kidding me? 1,100 pages, SEVENTEEN chapters, divided into sub-chapters, plus (wait for it) Appendices and no ToC? We know the Kindle does not use page numbers, so how is one to navigate this extensive work?

2) AWFUL MAP RESOLUTION. Massive fail publisher. The maps are very difficult to see / read, even on the 9.7" Kindle DX display. AM I supposed to keep the print edition handy in case I want to reference a map or one of the appendices? Sort of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

I know the technology is still maturing, but the publisher and Amazon need to try again.

You won't find a better book on the history of the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon's strategic and grand tactical ideas in the English language. Chandler describes fully each campaign and battle ever personally lead by Napoleon in the greatest detail. His chapter devoted to Napoleon's art of war provides the kind of analysis and synthesis of Napoleon's strategic ideas and battle methods you probably can't find anywhere else. An absolutely fantastic book for anyone interested in either Napoleonic history or the military thought and concepts of one of history's greatest soldiers.

A work of enormous scholarship. This is not really for the casual reader, but for those who truly want to immerse themselves in the subject. If you are looking for a concise history, look elsewhere. Chandler's main narrative is strong, but what separates him from others is his compulsion to tell you the details, asides, cross-references that others omit. If you want the full story, with no punches pulled, you will enjoy this handsome, easy-to-open work.