Hussar General (Wordsworth Military Library) [Paperback]

Roger Parkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2000 | Series: Wordsworth Military Library

Without the timely arrival of the brave 72-year-old Blucher at the head of his Prussian army, the course of history could well have taken a dramatic turn. As well as telling the full story of Waterloo and Blucher's part in it, this book, containing letters and personal accounts, details a career which spanned the entire Napoleonic era. No other general clashed so many times with Bonaparte, and Blucher's life epitomizes the excitement and horror of this fascinating, yet bloody, period.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roger Parkinson obtained his B.A. in War Studies at King's College, London University. For seven years he was defence corresponent for The Scotsman. He is the author of many books including Clausewitz, a biography of the great Prussian strategist, The American Revolution, and a four-volume history of the Second World War - Peace for Our Time / Blood Toil Tears and Sweat / A Day's March Nearer Home / Dawn on Our Darkness - based on the War Cabinet papers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth (November 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840222530
• ISBN-13: 978-1840222531
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Short but interesting biography, August 26, 2006

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hussar General (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

The Hussar General by Roger Parkinson proves to be a pretty interesting military biography on the Prussian Field Marshal Blucher who was crucial in winning the Waterloo campaign along with Duke of Wellington.

Since there isn't much written about Blucher in English language, I found this book to be quite enlightening and interesting. As stated in the previous review, the book is quite short but I thought the author was successful in capturing Blucher's character and personality as a military leader as well as giving us some insight into his personal life as well. I thought the author did a pretty good creating a balance picture of Blucher - his mental disstablization that he suffered from time to time as well as his single minded pursuit for victory over Napoleon and his French Empire.

If there was anything wrong with this biography, I would say that the author was perhaps too kind to Blucher in many of the military fisacos he managed to get himself into due to his over aggressive and careless nature. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau get too little credit for the positive influence they had on Blucher since they were the ones who turned Blucher from a hussar general to a field commander.

Overall, this book come highly recommended for anyone interested in the Napoleonic period. According to the author, only two biographies have beeen written on Blucher since 1815 and I haven't seen any modern ones outside of this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise but Excellent Military Biography, April 13, 2005

By 

Aussie Reader ""Rick"" (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hussar General (Wordsworth Military Library) (Paperback)

Roger Parkinson's short but highly readable biography of Field Marshal Blucher, "The Hussar General" is a great story. Originally published in 1975 and although only 264 pages in length he still manages to tell an interesting and fast paced account of this most interesting Prussian General. The book is packed with accounts of the battles and skirmishes that Blucher participated in during the battles of the French Revolutionary Wars and the later on during the Napoleonic Wars.

This is not an in-depth biography so don't expect too much detail in relation to the early life of Blucher, its mainly a military biography and covers that aspect of this great man's life adequately. To the military reader this book will provide an exciting story of a general that fought more battles against Napoleon Bonaparte than any other General. The narrative comes alive with accounts from participants in this exciting and horrifying but fascinating and bloody, period.

The book covers all his major actions and offers the reader a decent overview of his career. The story is well told and a number of maps are provided to assist the reader to follow the narrative although they are not of a high standard. Overall this is a great introduction to the life and times of General Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher.