Napoleon in Russia

This is a gem of narrative history, full of interesting detail. One of history's most awesome and terrible events, the invasion of Russia, has everything required for an epic and horrific story, and Alan Palmer tells it with restraint and intelligence. Highly recommended.

This is a reprint of the 1965 released edition of Alan Palmer's classic introduction to Napoleon's Russian Campaign. This is probably one of the best overviews of the campaign. Palmer writes well and has a good grasp of the facts. He was the teacher of Sir Martin Gilbert so that alone should serve as an inspirational note.The action is fast and intense. In his less than 300 pages, Palmer does just about everything right: he has a grasp of the Man and his tactics, a good overview of the campaign, the cut and thrust of battle (with some small unit actions) and a very good flavour of the major generals on both sides. As if that were not enough Palmer does exactly the same thing for the Russians --- Tsar Alexander and Kutuzov come alive, and their rather enigmatic and uninspiring nature is well described. There is almost nothing weak in this book and one can use it as a jumping off point of the campaigns before and after. For those that are looking for a good narrative on Napoleon and the Russian Campaign, this is a good place to start, or a good place to review and learn more about this most exciting campaign.