Waterloo: The Hundred Days

This is a great book for the novice historian since it explains the battle with maps and explanations of all three sides (British, French, and Prussian). Not only is the battle explained, but brief biographies of all the major players in this drama are also included. One can get an idea of why this battle was waged the way it was because of all these descriptions. Chandler is very fair to all sides in this battle as he describes the conduct of the campaign. One of the previous reviewers attributes him being British as taking the British perspective, but I don't believe this to be true. Chandler describes the battle from all perspectives.This is a great introductory book of the battle. It is a summary, but not an in depth story of the battle. The pictures, maps, short biographies, make this a very good read of the Waterloo battle.

I rate this book highly because it does its job, which is an introduction and background to the Battle of Waterloo for people who are new to this part of history and might want a good general background and understanding without going too deeply into the area. Very easy to read with lots of pictures. Don't expect a big heavy tome though, it really is a beginner's guide and a good one too. A very good starting point and easily digested. The only criticism I had was that the illustrations don't include the date, so a picture in the book is often not contemporary at all but painted decades after the Battle. There are many contemporary illustrations but many aren't and it is impossible to tell as dates aren't given. Since often contemporary pictures and illustrations tell us much, I found it bad historical practice that dates weren't given. However, a good starting point for the novice researcher.

While many tout this book as "lightweight" or "lacking" I find it to be superb. A book is not always meant to be an exhaustive comprehensive massive tome. David G Chandler has proven he can do that in his "The Campaigns of Napoleon" work. His piece about Waterloo is a wonderful quick overview of the 100 days campaign with indeed a focus on the British. Unlike Chandler's famous "The Campaigns of Napoleon", this book expresses Chandler's opinions about what was important about Waterloo and its long term effects, which in essence is his summation of the long term effects of the Napoleonic Era since Waterloo marked the end of it. Where as in his larger works Chandler has no time to express himself, in this short overview of Waterloo he does, making the book very engaging. His opinion about the importance of Lingy and Quatre Bras, deserves special note. Not a "must" have, but definatly a success in what it was intended to do.

Once again David G. Chandler, one of the most prolific Napoleonic authors, has provided us with an excellent book. Although published in 1980, the recent republishing by Osprey has given people the opportunity to purchase it rather take it out of the library. I first read this book about six years ago when I took it out and this was the first major work I had read on Waterloo. Since then I have purchased a copy and reread it. I find this to be an invaluable resource on the Battle of Waterloo and provides the layman with an easily readable account of the battle. I have also read Hofschroer's new series on the battle and although I believe he has provided us with an interesting look at a overlooked subject--German involvement in the battle--it is still just that. Chandler's in my mind remains the ultimate guide to the battle. Call it what you may, Chandler writes a book from the victor's perspective, mainly the British perspective of the battle. Chandler after all is British and has every right to portray the British as the victors, they WON the battle for the Allies.

An incredible book for anyone who has an interest in European, Napoleonic or military history. Author David Chandler gives a clear and very interesting account of the "Hundred Days" spanning from Napoleon's return from Elba to his 2nd abdication and exile to St Helena. The book is appropriately focused on the Waterloo campaign, Napoleon's bold (and almost successful) attempt to drive a wedge between the English and Prussian armies and destroy them piecemeal. The battles of Quatre-Bras, Ligny, Wavre and Waterloo are described in a straight-forward and exciting manner. The multituded of maps and diagrams also ensure that the reader is fully cognizant of the importance of each battefield manuever. Chandler avoids the pitfalls of many military writers by giving enough details of units and movements for a clear understanding of the battle while keeping the overall pace of the narrative to interest even the non-military reader. I can't recommend this book enough.