Customer Reviews

Generals (Wellington and Napolean)

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

 

 

Having waited for this one after finishing Young Bloods I pounced upon it when it eventually arrived and devoured it pretty quickly.
It is an entertaining and fast paced book with great flair and interest for the lover of historical fiction.
It would certainly have helped Bambi had she read the first book - she might have realised that 1) it is not intended to be a biography, and 2) there are some interesting points in reading how the lives of these two great figures intertwine, parallel and (as we all know) eventually intersect with enormous historical repurcussions.
Now I can't wait until the next one... ARGH - that's the one thing I hate most about reading series - with old ones you have to try to work out how to make sure you read them in order (a few times I've started a book only to realise it's 3 of 5 or something) and with new ones you have to wait until the next one is published (see Cornwell's current series on Alfred for example)!

I could not disagree with Bambi more. As an avid addict to historical fiction, I found this book entertaining and enlightening. I would suppose if you were deeply involved in writing a dissertation on either general then it would not satisfy your needs. But, as an historical novel about two obviously great generals it was a pleasure to read and experience this book.
I must confess that I enjoyed the sections on Wellington more than the sections on Bonaparte as I have been reading current fiction of India for some years yet had never read much on the establishment of the Raj.
For Bambi to admit to having read the book out of the order in which it was written should let one know that the writing would not satisfy his/her needs. But as a work of interesting, fact based historical fiction it was a marvelous read.

My main hobby is genealogy and I was interested in how Napoleon and Wellington influenced the years around the 1800's. My daughter (she has a degree in History) told me I should read some 'fictional history' and suggested "The Young Bloods" (vol 1) as this told the story of their early lives. The book was so easy to read (and so interesting) but it just covered the early years between 1769 and 1793 so I just had to get the next volume "The Generals" to enable me to continue the story.

"The Generals" being really one in a set of 4 books, is also so easy to read - in fact I didn't put the book down after it arrived in the post and I read it within 24 hours. I then immediately ordered vol3 (Fire $ Sword) & vol4 (Fields of Death).

This volume itself covers the time period between about 1795-1803 with Wellington serving in India, while Napoleon is at war in Italy and Egypt. The book is easy enough to read in its own right but makes even more sense when you read it as part of the set of Books.

Worth every penny!

This, the second in Scarrow's series about Wellington and Napoleon, consists of more intrigue and more battles than the first installment, "Young Bloods". Of course, this is natural because, where the first book dealt with the formative years of these two historical figures, this book covers the years when they learned and honed their craft of military leadership. We see also the maturation of their views and -- especially in Napoleon's case -- how the mandate to achieve absolute power seeped into his personality. Scarrow, as he freely admits, bends historical fact here and there to keep this work of fiction moving, but for the most part, he adheres to history's script. There's also a lot of geography in this book -- India, Italy, Egypt and of course, France and England. Two books into this four-part series I find I am enjoying it immensely and will soon launch myself into the next installment.

Second novel in this series. Even better than the first. Highly entertaining way of learning about both Wellington and Napolean's histories. The pace picks up as both men experience their first successes in high command. As mentioned in another review, I can't wait for the next installment.

For anyone looking to read a book about two great people from our past you will not be disappointed.This book is about the lives of Napoleon Bo naparte and Aurthur Wellesley.In this book you will be sucked into a world of war,romance,corruption,victory and failure and much much more.Your journey will take you around the world with these two heroes,fighting right alongside them,both agreeing and disaggreeing at times with there discissions.Scarrow does a remarkable job of alternating stories every few chapters,one chapter you want to read all about Napolean the whole way through,then you come to a chapter starting with wellesley and then all your consintration is on him.These guys rock !!! I don't write reviews much because I'm well,a reader not a writer.But if you pick this book up I guarentee you you'll thank me when you write your review.

slow and not as interesting as the rist two. Careers are moving but we see more of the tyrant Napoleon and less of Welsley

The book is another fine book by Simon. However, if you have shipping by Velocity Express be very worried!!! Took 12 days to get this item from Kentucky. To this day if you track all you get is "Item has left seller". Try not to have Amazon use Velocity Express as they must use horses for shipping.

I bought this book because I am interested in Wellington and thought that it would be good to get some insights into Napoleon as well.

The book interleaves episodes in the lives of the two generals over their earlier years. There does not seem to be any particular reason for doing this, and I read all the Wellington parts straight through and then started on Napoleon.

The historical information seemed rather average and superficial and there were certainly no new great details. Important episodes such as the battle of Assaye were treated very cursorily and in fact the campaigns around that period were skipped over, which seemed odd.

I was especially disappointed that the characterisation was very two-dimensional and the political background was also dealt with rather superficially.

The book is OK, but if you were interested in Wellington, I'd recommend one of the various biographies of him, eg Richard Holmes' Wellington: the Iron Duke. There did not seem to be a lot of point in writing a historical novel instead of a biography, when it is about identities as well-known and thoroughly researched as these two leaders.