Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March
by Adam Zamoyski
List Price:
Our Price: $8.95
You Save: $7.00 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Adam ZamoyskiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-08-01
ISBN: 006108686X
Number of pages: 704
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March
Book Review: facts & sources
Summary: 5 Stars
It is with great respect that I read Zamoyski's 1812. Respect not only for its author, but also for the players in this horrifying chain of events. Zamoyski has to be praised for making history imaginable, not only on an intellectual level, but also to the senses and to our emotions. His creed 'ad fontes' has given breadth and depth of approach, without drawing me, interested layman (forgive my pun) into discussions with his peers. Two remarks aside.
Sometimes the horror-tales of eyewitnesses can be deceiving for the overall picture. People tend to report about the things that go wrong, or the things that make an impression because they are repulsive or stupid. Moving an army of hundreds of thousands over thousands of kilometres in the described conditions is no mean feat. So a lot of things must have gone right. Describing cannibalism is more spectacular than describing the organisation of well-oiled logistics. Zamoyski does pay attention to this aspect, to be sure, but in order to make his account readable, he has to zoom in on the catastrophic. We would get a greatly distorted view of our modern history if we were to let our news agencies dictate it. So putting too much trust in eyewitness accounts may obscure rather than clarify our view about what is really going on.
Secondly, we have to take into account that in 1812, even in normal circumstances, death was omnipresent and life in general was infinitely harder than we can imagine in our world where even our soldiers are never further than one hour away from a hamburger and a coke.
By the way, I loved the asides of Zamoyski where he draws lines between those days and modern history, such as the horrors of serfdom in Russia and their meekness towards absolute rule under communism - which might even be extended to their craving for a powerful leader as Poutin
Summary of Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March
Napoleon dominated nearly all of Europe by 1810, largely succeeding in his aim to reign over the civilized world. But Britain eluded him. To conquer the island nation, he needed Russia's Tsar Alexander's help. The Tsar refused, and Napoleon vowed to teach him a lesson by intimidation and force. The ensuing invasion of Russia, during the frigid winter of 1812, would mark the beginning of the end of Napoleon's empire. Although his army captured Moscow after a brutal march deep into hostile territory, it was a hollow victory for the demoralized troops. Napoleon's men were eventually turned back, and their defeat was a momentous turning point in world affairs. Dramatic, insightful, and enormously absorbing, Moscow 1812 is a masterful work of history.
General Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Readings on the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars
Vienna 1814: How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Viennaby David King
Harmony; Published: 2008-03-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.30
Price in other shops:
Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal Marchby Adam Zamoyski
Harper Perennial; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops:
Trafalgar: Countdown to Battle, 1803-1805by Alan Schom
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1992-06-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.27
Price in other shops:
William Pitt the Younger: A Biographyby William Hague
HarperPerennial; Published: 2005-05-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.80
Price in other shops:
Napoleon (Penguin Lives)by Paul Johnson
Viking Adult; Published: 2002-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know Itby David A. Bell
Mariner Books; Published: 2008-01-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.83
Price in other shops:
The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)by William Doyle
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2001-12-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.48
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
God's War: A New History of the Crusadesby Christopher Tyerman
Belknap Press; Published: 2008-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.61
Price in other shops:
The Cambridge Companion to Tolstoy (Cambridge Companions to Literature)Cambridge University Press; Published: 2002-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.19
Price in other shops:
The Battle: A New History of Waterlooby Alessandro Barbero
Walker & Company; Published: 2005-07-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.72
Price in other shops:
The End of the Old Order: Napoleon And Europe, 1801-1805 (Napoleon and Europe)by Frederick W. Kagan
Perseus Books Group; Published: 2006-08-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.76
Price in other shops:
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45by Max Hastings
Knopf; Published: 2008-03-18; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.50
Price in other shops:
Caesar: Life of a Colossusby Adrian Goldsworthy
Yale University Press; Published: 2008-01-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.22
Price in other shops:
Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947by Christopher Clark
Belknap Press; Published: 2006-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.86
Price in other shops:
War and Peaceby Leo Tolstoy
Knopf; Published: 2007-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.00
Price in other shops:
The Pursuit of Glory: The Five Revolutions that Made Modern Europe: 1648-1815 (Penguin History of Europe)by Tim Blanning
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2008-05-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.41
Price in other shops:
Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Viennaby Adam Zamoyski
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.60
Price in other shops: