A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars (ISBN 1853673463)

THE best maps covering napoleonic campaigns-period:
This is a great survey of Napoleon's campaigns, from 1796-1815. However, it is NOT a replacement for Chandler (and shouldn't be considered as such)--but it will prove an indispensable accessory to him (the maps in Chandler are scarce and terrible). The chapters devoted to Egypt and Marengo are wonderful. And Esposito does a better job than Chandler covering the immediate post-Jena collapse of Prussian forces west of the Oder, the complex occupation of Poland; the confused, tentative moves leading to Eylau and Friedland are tremendously informative. Without Esposito/Elting I would not have been able to follow Chandler's account describing Napoleon's amazing baiting of the Russians away from his intended crossing place at the Berezina. Again in the 1814 fighting on French soil, Esposito/Elting provide a crucial resource to Chandler, whose account is hardly intelligible without plenty good maps of the river lines, their crossing points, and the principal towns. The only places I can see for improvements would be for more maps covering Spain following 1810: the book follows Napoleon himself closely, leaving Spain in 1809 to prepare for the impending Austrian campaign, leaving behind a large portion of the Grande Armee fighting many tough battles against Wellington for 4 more years with no more coverage. Marmont's fighting in Dalmatia doesn't get much coverage, neither does Murat's own small campaigns following his accession to the Kingdom of Naples. Russian actions in Finland and the Balkans, as well as British naval activity in the Baltic are hardly mentioned. If this book were ever reissued, and it should be, maps covering the Revolutionary era, between Valmy up to Hohenlinden and Second Zurich, would be very helpful, at least for some context on the other French commanders of the time. If you want to really possess a fluency in Napoleon's campaigns, and already have Chandler, this book is your next, and probably only, step forward, before specializing into each individual campaign. It will probably be the first resource you reach for when you are researching any of the campaigns. Elting's commentary delivered in his characteristic terse prose is quite engaging stylistically, in turns acerbic and humorous, always precise, clear and surprisingly spare. While the maps are hands down the selling point for this book, the commentary is excellent as well.

The sine qua non of my Napoleonic Library:
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I am neither trained military nor a professional scholar. However, I am very interested in the history of the art of warfare, which, I believe, reached it's apogee in Napoleon. Before I had this atlas, I set out to read Chandler's "Campaign's of Napoleon" which had insufficient maps for appreciating the larger context and movements of Napoleon and his army. Once I had Esposito's atlas, I returned to Chandler and was able to appreciate and follow what was going on a lot better. Since Chandler, I have read other Napoleonic titles, always making sure to have Esposito open to the appropriate page on the table nearby. To the casual reader with an interest in history, Napoleon can be an intimidating topic because there is just so much to digest, especially in terms of geography. But Esposito's atlas can tremendously simplify the process of getting to know the what and where of history's greatest captain.

One of the Very Best single volume references:
The Napoleonic Wars are far easier to understand for students, buffs, and even professional historians if they have this book at hand. The visuals provided by the numerous large maps are excellent and indispensible, regardless of any minor quibbling flaws. The text is frankly francophile (sorry about the pun) but so what? Most works on the Napoleonic period come down on one side or the other. Meanwhile, the late Col. Elting's writing is concise, colorful, and descriptive. His prose was always full of wit, energy, humor, and humanity. The francophilia and vibrant writing are also apparent in the very nice annotated bibliography at the end of the book. The thing to remember is that Elting's pro-Napoleon, francophile notions informed his opinions, but did not distort or cloud his research or judgement. If forced to choose between recommending this book or the classic by Chandler, I would have to recommend this one -- although if you get both you can't go wrong. For more detailed praise and discussion of controvery surrounding this book, see the very good Kiley reviews here.

If you are interested in Napoleon, buy this book.:
This book is definitive, and remarkably useful. It is an absolutely necessary companion to the study of Napoleon's military career. It is curiously shaped (with pages wider than they are long) formatted so that when the book is open the right hand page displays a map showing a military situation from Napoleon's career, and the left hand page presents a carefully written description of the map. This shape facilitates the use of the book. A single map (and consequently its facing page, may cover something as large as all of Europe, or as small as the battle field of Quatre-bras. Campaigns are usually presented with multiple maps, each dated and timed to show a major manuver in the campaign. As most campaigns culminate in a battle, the period between campaign maps becomes shorter and shorter. The Waterloo campaign, for example, is encompassed by 14 maps whose some of whose titles are: (1)Situation in Europe about 1 June 1815 (2) Situation late on 14 June 1815, (3)Situation at 0700, 16 June 1815, (4)Battles of Ligny and Quatre-Bras - Situation at 1400, 16 June 1815 (5)Battles of Ligny and Quatre-Bras - Situation at 2100, 16 June 1815, (6)Situation at Dawn, 17 June 1815 (7)Situation night of 17/18 June 1815. You get the idea. The quality of the maps is exceptional. Every military feature is carefully presented. The text is equally carefully written, and represents a superb one page sketch of the battle situation depicted on the map. Furthermore, the two are carefully linked, such that all places mentioned in the text are on the map, and the text itself gives the reader a hint (e.g. North West Quadrant) if the place is obscure. The Introduction to the book is a careful and thorough guide to Napoleonic warfare, including Army organization, weapons, and tactics. At the back of the book are biographical sketches of all important men in the Napoleonic era, and a very thorough bibliography. I have found that the way to use this book is as a companion to other books. For example, when reading Chandler's "Campaigns of Napoleon" (which has its own maps but not nearly as useful as Esposito's), I will open Espisito to the correct page and lay it on the table. When Chandler mentions a town, I find it on the Esposito's map. Chandler's description may go on for many pages, but I don't have to flip pages back and forth as I would if I used Chandler's maps. If you buy this book, I suggest you get the oldest edition you can consistant with the description of quality you desire. The Older editions were printed on much thicker paper than the newer ones (1990??). Considering this book's usefulness and rarity, the prices I see here on Amazon, while expensive, are not exhorbitant. Until the advent of the World Wide Web, the problem would be to find an edition at any price. I have carried my editions all over Europe, including Russia, and they have held together remarkably well. They show only wear on the outside, and an occasional thumbprint from my coffee.

A Military Histoey and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars:
Schnelle und gute Lieferung. Jeder Zeit wieder. Klasse Atlas über dieses Thema. Für mich gibt es nichts vergleibares!