Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles

New York: Harper - An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2015. First U.S. Edition First Printing Stated . Hard Back. Fine/No Dust Jacket. 6 1/4" X 9 1/2. 352 Pages Indexed. Brand new condition book with red boards and spine has gold to lettering and ornament. Illustrated battle scenes on endpapers. This is the definitive, illustrated history of one of the greatest battles ever fought - a riveting nonfiction chronicle published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's last stand. On June 18, 1815 the armies of France, Britain and Prussia descended upon a quiet valley south of Brussels. In the previous three days, the French army had beaten the Prussians at Ligny and fought the British to a standstill at Quatre-Bras. The Allies were in retreat. The little village north of where they turned to fight the French army was called Waterloo. The blood-soaked battle to which it gave its name would become a landmark in European history. In his first work of nonfiction, Bernard Cornwell combines his storytelling skills with a meticulously researched history to give a riveting chronicle of every dramatic moment, from Napoleon's daring escape from Elba to the smoke and gore of the three battlefields and their aftermath. Through quotes from the letters and diaries of Emperor Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, and the ordinary officers and soldiers, he brings to life how it actually felt to fight those famous battles as well as the moments of amazing bravery on both sides that left the actual outcome hanging in the balance until the bitter end. Published to coincide with the battle's bicentennial in 2015, Waterloo is a tense and gripping story of heroism and tragedy and of the final battle that determined the fate of nineteenth-century Europe. Contents in 12 Chapters: Glorious news Nap's landed again in France Hurrah, Napoleon has humbugged me by God, The Fate of France is in your hands, Avancez mes enfants courage encore une fois Francais, Ah! Now I've got them those English, A cannon ball came from the Lord knows where and took the head off our right-hand man, The Big Boots don't like rough stuff, Those terrible grey horses how they fight, We had our revenge Such slaughtering, The most beautiful troops in the world, Defend yourselves Defend yourselves They are coming in everywhere, and Next to a battle lost the greatest misery is a battle gained. Plus Aftermath A thousand shall fall beside thee and ten thousand at thy right hand but it shall not come nigh thee, Afterword, Acknowledgements, and Bibliography.