Memoirs of an Aide-de-Camp of Napoleon 1800-1812 (ISBN 1845880056)

The View of Someone Who was There:
The life of Philippe de Segur was most amazing. First attracted to the cavalry during a parade in 1800, he joined the French Army. He was to serve (somewhat intermittantly) for the next forty-eight years. He served throughout the years of Napoleon. Mustered out after Waterloo, he was recalled in 1830 advancing to the rank of Lt. General until permanent retirement in 1848. During his life he published several books, of which these Memoirs present a personal insight into Napoleon's personality and character from the view of an insider. This volume of memoirs cover from 1800 to 1812. In it he begins as a private in the army and finishes as a general of a brigade on the march to Russia where 500,000 men started out and only 20,000 lived to return. While the broad outlines of Napoleon's life and battles are well known, here is an inside, intimate view from someone who was there.