The Fields of Death (Wellington and Napoleon 4): (Revolution 4) Kindle Edition

If you have read the preceding three books in the Wellington/Napoleon series by Scarrow, your hope on beginning this volume is that it will do justice to the previous pages and leave you, the reader, with a satisfying feeling at the end. The book succeeds well in doing just that. It has been a long and winding road since we were first introduced to these two historic figures when they were callow youths. We watched them mature and eventually become men of destiny. This final book takes Wellington to Iberia and the Peninsular Wars while Napoleon, now emperor of France, wages war in Eastern Europe and in the frigid environs of Russia. Finally, they meet at Waterloo in their epic battle. As others have noted, the author clearly is sympathetic to Wellington whom he paints as almost a god, while damning Bonaparte as a narcissistic, pursuer of war for war's sake. By the end, there is little to like in Scarrow's Napoleon. The 2000 pages of this four-volume set vividly bring alive the period of the Napoleonic Wars. The characters are well-drawn, the battles are well-described. And history is well dished-out. All in all this series is a most worthy accomplishment and a tribute to Scarrow's scholarship and writing abilities. Bravo.

Over all these four volumes are outstanding historical reading, it took me about 6 weeks to work my way thru them, but I enjoyed them immensely. Perhaps the battle of Waterloo is not given enough space or credit. It was the finale for Napoleon's reign and the start of his road to final exile and the battle should have been more detailed. Otherwise its a very informative history lesson. My final impression of Bonaparte is that he, in some ways was a military genius, but he also trusted his intuition more than solid intelligence reports. The warfare of that era placed very little value on human life, marching them in tight formations to within 30 paces of the enemy, stand and fire and absorb the enemies fire. When informed that a battle cost him 10,000 men in one day, Napoleon just shrugs, utters "bon" and that's it. That what brought to mind Hitlers reaction to the disaster at Stalingrad when informed of the fate of the 6th army, he just replied "set up another army". When Napoleon was informed that there were only winter coats for 20,000 of his 90,000 men he replied:" requisition some more, don't bother me with these details". The same attitude that Hitler displayed when informed his troops had only their summer uniforms.I can highly recommend these four books.Koelschwolf

This last book brings the saga of Napoleon and Wellington to a climax and as usual the author delivers. Because it is the last and most famous of their battles, wish the author had provided more detail and maps of the Waterloo battle. But he does a good job of putting us in their minds to see what actions "in the fog of war" provoke each leader to he actions and orders to his forces.And throughout the series I liked the small stories about how both Generals seemed to be able to relate comfortably to the troops and the misery they face(except for Napoleon in the retreat from Moscow). This touch makes good leaders in to great ones.

Simon Scarrow has given us Wellsley and Napoleon, two of the worlds great antagonists, as the real people they were in the real times in which they lived, in this 4 book series concluding at Waterloo in The Fields of Death. The reader is recommended to start at the beginning and to read these in the order that the events occurred.

One of the best accounts so far of the last years of the "Napoleonic" conflicts and the differences between the British and the French sides. Nice characterization of Napoleon and Wellington. Although clearly written from a British view, it still recount the events in a clear and easy way to read. Actually, this book feels like written by the master, Bernard Cornwell himself! And that is a compliment!

This amazing period of history is described in great detail .The battle scenes ,the carnage of it all and personalities involved.For all students of history and particularly military history these books will provide many hours of enjoyment....Paul Bruyea

This series follows Wellington and Napoleon from birth to Waterloo and really points out how similar these two great men were. I think what I liked best in this series was the background on Wellington. I've read many books and series on Napoleon but have never really looked into Wellington's story before his Spanish campaign, so reading about his upbringing was very rewarding.

I really enjoyed this fictionalized history. The history, while surprisingly accurate, is brought to live in the fictionalized actions, thoughts and conversations of the characters (Napoleon and Wellington). Like a good novel, it was hard to put it down; like a great history it was sweeping in its scale and amazing in its human examination.

To write a historical novel and one which most readers will already know at least the general story is a challenge. To write it about two so well known figures in history merely adds to that. As a novel, the reader will already know the ending. Indeed they may well know much more than that. so to be successful is a challenge.Does Simon Scarrow rise to that challenge? Indeed he does. I suspect that even the most knowledgeable reader will be not only entertained but informed. This not only tells the story of the first Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte, but transports the reader to those times. You learn how wars and battles are fought 200 years ago. You learn of the politics of the time. You find yourself virtually sitting on a horse surveying the battlefields of Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. You are in that army travelling over the terrain and rudimentary roads of the time. You are in the midst of the cavalry, sabre in hand, in shining breastplate, chasing down and slashing at the retreating soldiers. But more than that, you have insights into the characters of the two protagonists. The brilliant but warlike Emperor and the brilliant but reluctantly efficient Wellington. As one star slowly rises, you witness the other shine bright then wane. The peripheral characters too are there. France's Marshalls, for example Ney, who is Napoleon's man, but serves under the Bourbon King when Napoleon initially abdicates but then rejoins Napoleon on his return (and is eventually executed for it). Or Somerset, the young understudy to Wellington who will later be the commander of the British army in the Crimea. But I digress.Frankly, this series of four books is magnetic! I had to read them one after the other in indecent haste. They all both entertain and educate. Epic is often a lightly used word, but not here. Like the history of the period in question, these books are certainly epic! You will be spellbound.I could write much about Scarrow's portrayal of Napoleon. His brilliance on the battlefield, his

I do not want to repeat what others have already so eloquently said. The book and the series of which it is the last instalment are all extremely good. I already know the story of the Waterloo campaign intimately but this book puts you there and covers so much more. Wellington's character is finely drawn and so is that of Napoleon, the flawed genius. The retreat from Moscow is very well handled and the facts are put into context. Also such things as Wellington's domestic situation and his estrangement from his sons whom he has not seen for all of their childhood because he has been fighting for 20 years is very well drawn. It does justice to one of Britain's finest soldiers of all time and to a military genius who had a vision of a united Europe way ahead of his time but also was a tyrant of almost Hitlerian proportions. Although I have studied this period in depth I still feel I have learned things from this series.Simon Scarrow is well known as the author of the series about a Roman soldier which is very good but this series takes his writing to another level. The research involved is phenomenal and the style is superb. If he never writes another thing he will have earned a place in literary history, in my opinion. A wonderful achievement. Chapeau!

The cover would have you believe this weighty tome is all about Waterloo, which would have been a bit much even for that great fight. Truth is, it's about the whole Peninsula War so begins in 1809 at Talavera. Not only that, in order to get the balance right, it covers Napoleon's campaigns in Austria and Russia. That, I think, is one of the problems I have with this book - it attempts too much. Because of that, inevitably some things are overlooked or not gone into and perhaps others given too much. The disastrous retreat from Moscow is given about as much room as Waterloo itself. OK, I know some would argue it was equally important I suppose? Others writing here have wished for more about St Helena and the alleged poisoning [try 'The Emperor's Last Island' if you want more]. I did get a bit battle-weary at some stages in Spain; Badajoz, for example, gets mega coverage. But it's easy to forget that this is essentially a work of non-fiction. Scarrow's research appears excellent but he has [to my knowledge] nothing but real people and events and let's face it, that's something you can't change. I am, however, glad I'm not the only one to have spotted the cameo appearance of A Certain Person [on p359]!! That was a nice touch. All this makes it appear that I didn't enjoy the book but the truth is that I did - for the most part. I did find it long and unlike others, I'm not sure it's the best of the series but Scarrow is a fine writer who I will continue to go back to. This has been a mighty undertaking which may make him afeared of revisiting the Peninsula and staying with good old Cato. We'll see!

The book I have been told is great, but as with most Simon Scarrow books, they change the image on the front so you think its a new one, which is incredibly irritating. This is not the first time this has happened so getting a bit cheesed off with it. Be sure to check the titles rather than loom at the picture on the front like I do.

I had enjoyed Simon Scarrow's many Roman gladiator e-books on my Kindle. I decided to try the 4 Revolution e-books about Napoleon and Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) and their times. There is a real sympathy for the plight of the people caught up in the Revolution and wars of the time, and a sympathetic portrait of Wellesey's wife, and her situation. My background in history is not good enough to happily read serious books about these stirring events, but these biographies of Napoleon and Wellinton, developing their characters across the years, and the tales of their adventures flesh out the history for me. I have visited the site of Siringapatan and been close to Waterloo, walked in France and in the hills of Portugal and Spain, and could vividly picture the setting and people of the battles Scarrow describes. They should not be dismissed as boy's adventure stories although I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of them. I thoroughly recommend the Revolution series.