The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
by Gunther Rothenberg

The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
List Price: $17.99
Our Price: $6.98
You Save: $11.01 (61%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.67 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Gunther Rothenberg
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-01-31
ISBN: 006085121X
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Harper Perennial

Book Reviews of The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

Book Review: Review of "The Napoleonic Wars"
Summary: 5 Stars

The author did a fantastic job of describing Napoleon's military life. Through the format of a narrative, Rothenberg goes into sufficient detail about the campaigns, the individual battles, and even the skirmishes involved in those fifteen years of fighting. Examples of such detail include pulling quotes from generals and other military leaders both surrounding and competing with Napoleon, giving an account of the weather and surrounding landscapes of specific battles, and detailing the course of the battle with statistics on troop casualties and army sizes. It is not so much a story where the reader sees things "through the eyes of Napoleon" and we follow him exclusively, but rather an account of the battles with an emphasis on Napoleon's thoughts and actions therein. I thoroughly enjoyed The Napoleonic Wars and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in such a topic. I now have a better understanding of the events, those involved, and the implications of the Wars' end result, and how all of those things played out and impacted modern history and warfare.

Summary of The Napoleonic Wars (Smithsonian History of Warfare)

This vividly illustrated history of the Napoleonic Wars documents the wars' origins in the French Revolution, narrates Napoleon's victories at Austerlitz and Jena, and concludes with his defeats in the Iberian peninsula, Russia, and finally at Waterloo. Author Gunther E. Rothenberg describes how Napoleon transformed interstate warfare into a system of relentless conquest, creating a military superpower on a scale not seen since the Roman Empire. Though eventually defeated, Napoleon's model of conquest set a pattern that was to be revived by modern totalitarian states, and their opponents.

  • A sweeping examination of the rise, triumph, and eventual downfall of Napoleon, a man whose military genius forever changed the face of war.
  • Analysis of Napoleon's system of waging war, and the strategies that allowed him to create a singularly powerful army.
  • A look at the profound influence of Napoleonic conquest on warfare of the modern era.

Military historian Gunther Rothenberg provides a detailed account of the Napoleonic Wars in this installment of Cassell's multivolume series covering the history of warfare. The treatment is predominantly military rather than social. The matter-of-fact, dispassionate text is rich in tactical details and statistics, augmented by contemporary paintings, well-designed maps, and diagrams. The actions of the protagonists' commanders are also critically assessed, with much attention given to Napoleon himself, stressing the power of his charisma but showing that his insistence on sole control ultimately proved a weakness. Significantly, The Napoleonic Wars aims to show that, far from being the end of a military era, this was a period marking the origins of modern warfare. Developments in army organization, strategy, and weaponry gained from the experience of over 20 years of war are progressively described. The main points of Rothenberg's argument, that Napoleonic strategies continued to be followed and that the sheer scale of war was revolutionary, are summed up in the brief epilogue. The bulk of the broadly chronological text is uncluttered by too much speculation; military-history buffs will appreciate The Napoleonic Wars for its clarity. --Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk

Napoleonic Wars Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Napoleonic Wars Books
The Emperor's Last Victory: Napoleon and the Battle of Wagram ImageThe Emperor's Last Victory: Napoleon and the Battle of Wagram
by Gunther Erich Rothenberg
George Weidenfeld & Nicholson; Published: 2005-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.42
Price in other shops: $34.95
Napoleon's Great Adversaries: The Archduke Charles and Austrian Army, 1792-1814 ImageNapoleon's Great Adversaries: The Archduke Charles and Austrian Army, 1792-1814
by Gunther E. Rothenberg
Indiana Univ Pr; Published: 1982-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $49.95
The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon ImageThe Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon
Indiana University Press; Published: 1978-03; Hardcover; Book
History of the war in the peninsula (Classics of British historical literature) ImageHistory of the war in the peninsula (Classics of British historical literature)
by William Francis Patrick Napier
University of Chicago Press; Published: 1979; Hardcover; Book
History of the War in the Peninsula (Volume 5); And in the South of France, From the Year 1807 to the Year 1814 ImageHistory of the War in the Peninsula (Volume 5); And in the South of France, From the Year 1807 to the Year 1814
by Sir William Francis Patrick Napier
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $36.37
History of the War in the Peninsula, Under Napoleon (Volume 2, pt. 1); To Which Is Prefixed a View of the Political and Military State of the Four Belligerent Powers ImageHistory of the War in the Peninsula, Under Napoleon (Volume 2, pt. 1); To Which Is Prefixed a View of the Political and Military State of the Four Belligerent Powers
by Maximilien Foy
General Books LLC; Published: 2012-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $36.56
The French Revolution and Napoleonic Era ImageThe French Revolution and Napoleonic Era
by Owen Connelly
Harcourt, Inc.; Published: 1999-07-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $67.00
Price in other shops: $125.95
Napoleon in Egypt ImageNapoleon in Egypt
by Paul Strathern
Bantam; Published: 2008-10-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops: $30.00
Napoleon: The Path to Power ImageNapoleon: The Path to Power
by Dr. Philip Dwyer
Yale University Press; Published: 2009-03-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.82
Price in other shops: $23.00
Napoleon: A Life ImageNapoleon: A Life
by Paul Johnson
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.73
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar Books and other products
The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War ImageThe War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War
by Fred Anderson
PBS; Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-11-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.92
Price in other shops: $17.00
For the Common Defense ImageFor the Common Defense
by Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski
Free Press; Published: 1994-09-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.88
Price in other shops: $28.00
Warfare and Society in Europe, 1792-1914 (Warfare and History) ImageWarfare and Society in Europe, 1792-1914 (Warfare and History)
by Geoffrey Wawro
Routledge; Published: 2000-02-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $32.00
Price in other shops: $42.95
Warfare in the Seventeenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare) ImageWarfare in the Seventeenth Century (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
by John Childs
Harper Paperbacks; Published: 2006-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops: $17.99
The Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War ImageThe Spanish Ulcer: A History of the Peninsular War
by David Gates
Da Capo Press; Published: 2001-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.01
Price in other shops: $22.50
A Short History of the French Revolution, 5th Edition ImageA Short History of the French Revolution, 5th Edition
by Jeremy D. Popkin
Prentice Hall; Published: 2009-05-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $35.67
Price in other shops: $43.80
Wars of the Ancient Greeks (Smithsonian History of Warfare) ImageWars of the Ancient Greeks (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
by Victor Davis Hanson
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-12-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.97
Price in other shops: $17.99
Wars of Empire (Smithsonian History of Warfare) ImageWars of Empire (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
by Douglas Porch
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.91
Price in other shops: $17.95
Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 ImageNapoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815
by Charles Esdaile
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2009-10-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops: $18.00
The Renaissance at War (Smithsonian History of Warfare) ImageThe Renaissance at War (Smithsonian History of Warfare)
by Thomas Arnold
Harper Perennial; Published: 2006-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.02
Price in other shops: $17.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories