"Swords Around A Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée", by Colonel John R. Elting (USA, Ret.)

769 pages, Free Press, ISBN-10: 030-6807572

 

Throughout history, few armies have left as great and enduring a legend as Napoleon's Grande Armée. In existence for only a decade, this powerful weapon – numbering at its peak over one million soldiers from France, as well as from varied vassal and allied states – swiftly conquered vast territories across Europe and threatened to overrun more yet. Swords Around A Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée is an outstanding masterpiece by military professional and historian John R. Elting who paints an exciting, detailed picture of the magnificent fighting force created by the genius and imagination of Napoleon. This is history as engaging as a novel, for Elting recreates the daily life of the Grande Armée's soldiers and leaders and the conditions under which they existed and fought, including rations, pay, mud, disease, mobile hospitals, camp followers, loot, marches, baggage, uniforms and more. Placing the reader in the boots of individuals – from yardbird conscripts to generals – Elting carries us along the Armée's path, through triumph and disaster, in peace and at war. Sharing the experiences of the men (and women) who served in, serviced and supported this awesome military force, the reader meets the Emperor himself, his extraordinary officers such as Berthier, Caulaincourt, Ney and others, as well as the ordinary Frenchmen and foreigners who, imbued with the Armée's unique fighting spirit, followed its eagles.

Swords Around A Throne is the result of thirty years of research and is a first rate organizational history of the Grande Armée. Quite simply, the Grande Armée is covered from muzzle to butt plate. All of the combat arms are meticulously reviewed, as well as the supporting services, along with such esoteric topics as law and order, the armies of the Revolution, and even the Royal Army of the ancien regime just prior to the conflagration of 1789. The flotsam and jetsam of the Grande Armée is covered in painstaking detail: vivandieres, colors, decorations, music, medical services and practices, food, marches, replacements and draft dodgers.

There are excellent chapters on logistics, strategy and tactics (which I consider superb and quite informative), as well as three chapters on the end of the Empire and the Grande Armée itself. Marshals and generals and lesser personalities are all given their due and are generously covered in some detail, especially some virtual unknowns that some of us may have barely heard of, if at all. The Imperial Navy has a chapter dedicated to it, especially detailing its support of land operations, while allied and foreign troops serving in the Grande Armée are given their just due; the chapter on the Grande Armée's (many) enemies is enlightening and very well done. One of the best chapters is on the Imperial General Staff; this attention has been long overdue and recognizes its value in the Emperor's method of waging war, as well as the value of its chief, Marshal Berthier. It was the first great modern staff and Berthier the first of the great chiefs of staff; two of the reasons for the Emperor's ability of waging such sweeping, quick and deadly campaigns were the efficiency of Berthier and the staff.

If Swords Around A Throne has a weakness, it is that you hunger for more information. There is so much that is unsaid that it again makes the student in all of us go out and do research on his own which, if I may be so bold, is one Col. Elting's purposes. At heart, he is still the teacher, trying to have us improve our knowledge of the period, one of the most fascinating in military history. The list of sources in the back is impressive, most being either archival sources or first hand accounts of combatants or participants (some, unfortunately for us English-only types, are still in French and many are hard to find, but there are many libraries that do hold these unique volumes). In short, Swords Around A Throne is the perhaps best single-volume history of the Grande Armée in English, probably in any language.

"The Civil War: A Narrative; Red River to Appomattox", by Shelby Dade Foote, Jr.

 

1106 pages, Random House, Inc., ISBN-13: 978-0307290441

The Civil War: A Narrative; Red River to Appomattox is the concluding volume of Foote's narrative history of the American Civil War; it opens with Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman planning the defeat of the Confederacy, and the failure of the Red River campaign. It includes the capture of Atlanta, Sherman's march to the sea, Sheridan's reduction of the Shenandoah Valley and climaxes with Lee's surrender at Appomattox (it also includes the tragic anticlimaxes of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the capture and imprisonment of Jefferson Davis). As a finale, Foote touches briefly on the Reconstruction and the post-war years of the veterans of the conflict, Jefferson Davis and other notable figures in the nation's bloodiest conflict. As before, Foote's prose is objective yet compelling, bringing the personalities to vivid life.

Shelby Foote spent his life researching and writing these books, and it shows. This is the most interesting mass of information compiled in a flowing fashion that I believe has been written. It has so much personally revealing biographical information about the persona of the Civil War that one cannot but gain insight as to the causes and results of the fighting. One that has interest in history or warfare cannot afford to miss this journey.  

All in all, the three volumes work best when approached like as a dramatic epic novel. It is fascinating to watch the main characters - Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Lee, and Davis - progress as the war moves forward. From the end, it is amazing to look back past all of the death and destruction to the beginning, when things seemed so much simpler. This is especially true of on the Confederate side - there is an overwhelming sense of doom and gloom looming over the Southerners in the last volume. Southern independence - so possible, almost likely, in Vol. 1 - evolves into a hopeless struggle for very survival by Vol. 3. From a dramatic stand point of this story, I think that the Confederates are the more sympathetic side; history, of course, has judged it differently, but this 3-volume work is more dramatic epic than historical scholarship.

"The Civil War: A Narrative; Fredericksburg to Meridian", by Shelby Dade Foote, Jr.

845 pages, Random House, Inc., ISBN-13: 978-0307290434

The Civil War: A Narrative; Fredericksburg to Meridian is Shelby Foote's second part of his trilogy, and I have to say that, after having read the first part - as well as many of Bruce Catton's very excellent narratives of the war - I find this trilogy more even handed in its review of North and South. Foote makes it clear that, even though he was born in the Deep South, any bias he shows is for the underdog, not because of his heritage. The descriptions of battles, strategies, tactics, of the common soldiers and, of course, generalship, gives one the clear feeling that the CSA's fighting spirit, shrewdness, determination and abilities were superior in every way to those of the Union, especially during the early years. There is much about the human side of the war: senior officers who knew each other, even brothers, fathers, sons on both sides; rivals or friends from military schools or previous wars; common soldiers gossiping and trading tobacco, newspapers, food and even taunts across the lines during battle lulls. There seemed to be very little hatred in this war. The real hatred came later, during Reconstruction.

Volume II begins with Jefferson Davis' 1863 trip around the Confederacy to rally his constituents, and takes us through the battles of Fredericksburg, Stones River, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. We lose Stonewall Jackson, see the rise of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Ulysses S. Grant and witness the fall of Rosecrans and Bragg. It does not just focus on the well-known activities of the Army of the Potomac vs. the Army of N.VA, but interposes scenes from all theaters of the war as well, as the other branch of service (that would be the much-neglected Navy). It's not just a military history, as we learn of such items as the infighting in both White Houses, international ramifications of the War and the dysfunctional inflationary economies and riots in Southern cities like Richmond and Northern cities like New York.

Foote is a master storyteller and his riveting and personal accounts may make the reader forget they are reading non-fiction history. It's the kind of book one can open at any page and start reading. It is long and detailed, but not so much by mentioning every regiment and commander as other books do, but rather by just telling the whole story from various angles. This series of books is fantastic reading. Excellent writing with local interest stories included. The only thing I found lacking was better and more maps showing what the two sides were doing.

"The Civil War: A Narrative; Fort Sumter to Perryville", by Shelby Dade Foote, Jr.

 840 pages, Random House, Inc., ISBN-13: 978-0394419480

If the name Shelby Foote seems even a little familiar, it is because he's the guy from the Ken Burns' program "The Civil War", and it is his three-part history of the Civil War that inspired that program in the first place; this is part one of that trilogy, The Civil War: A Narrative; Fort Sumter to Perryville. How can one man possibly know so much about such a large and complex historical event? The research required, the understanding of the political issues and the insight into the motivations of the many key players involved boggles the mind. Foote somehow manages to get his hands completely around the enigmatic thing we know as the Civil War and deliver it to us in clear, complete and compelling fashion. This is the Ring Trilogy of historical military literature. Other worthy efforts, such as The Killer Angels or, more recently, The Last Full Measure may delve deeper into one particular battle or limited campaign, but no other work provides such a comprehensive and detailed picture of the entire conflict.

The scope is so impressive. Foote does not focus solely on the battles, but rather drills down to the core political and moral issues so that we see the whole chess match. And his rendering of the characters? Words fail me. We follow Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, or Robert E. Lee, or George B. McClellan, or U.S. Grant for a hundred pages, mesmerized, and then cry out as he swings the scene to another theater. But two pages later we don't care; we're sucked in again. Foote captures the emotion of the time. His love of the subject is apparent. It is amazing to read the details of such a divisive and horrific event, to taste Lincoln's frustration over McClellan's waffling, to cheer the audacious achievements of Lee and Jackson, to wonder at Lee's tragic march toward Appomattox, and to empathize with both sides along the way. Shelby Foote has done justice to a defining moment in the history of our great union, leaving readers north and south proud to be Americans. 

Though the book seems to dwell slightly more on the Confederate point-of-view, there is still ample coverage of what was being planned and done up in the North. While the book may not be purely objective, Foote lays out in detail the strengths and weaknesses on both sides. In fact, written out as they are, it almost makes you wonder how the South could have expected to win at all, considering their lack of industrial strength.  This isn't the book you turn to if you're looking for a brief introduction or want a comprehensive analysis of the social, philosophical, economic and moral issues involved with this conflict. Although I will say that Foote's presentation of the events has caused me to seriously reconsider not only the centrality of this event in shaping contemporary American identity but also the legitimacy of the mythological veneer that has been cast over certain historical figures.

"The Campaigns of Napoleon: The Mind and Method of History's Greatest Soldier", by David G. Chandler

1172 pages, Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN-13: 978-0025236608

Dr. David G. Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon: The Mind and Method of History's Greatest Soldier has been in print for over thirty years. There must be some reason why it has remained so important and popular. In simple terms it is a masterpiece. In fact, it has on numerous occasions been recognized as one of the most important books on Napoleon throughout modern times and has of late been recognized by Général de Gaulle in 1967 and later in 2002 by Vladimir Putin.

This book is really three books in one: it is partly a biography of Napoleon, partly an analysis of his art of war, and partly a history of his campaigns. It covers Bonaparte's youth, his meteoric rise to prominence after the French Revolution, and every campaign that he participated in. I've read this book cover to cover three times, and individual chapters so many times that I've lost count. Chandler's writing style is engrossing and easy to read, not dry summaries of facts and events and dates. He is both a great writer and a great historian.

My (or others') disagreements with Chandler on individual points simply do not detract from this masterly work. I would agree, however, that this book is very Anglocentric, probably its biggest drawback. Historians are often looking for balance in their assessments, and it is in this area that Chandler is weakest. I think he overplays the role of the English in ultimately defeating Napoleon, although this is a problem with virtually everything that has been written about Napoleon by the English. Oddly, I would also agree that Chandler treats Napoleon with almost hero worship. Too much hyperbole perhaps, but this is more of a literary criticism of the text rather than historical.

One negative comment that other reviewers have made regarding this book is that it is either factually incorrect or incomplete/not sufficiently detailed, etc. These are insignificant criticisms in my view. There are no gross historical errors in this book, either in facts or in interpretation, to my knowledge. If you want a balanced, broad view of any historical era, you must read a variety of primary and secondary sources. In the case of the Napoleonic wars, you must read French, German, and Russian sources as well. This book is not the only word on the subject, but the best written in English. This is the BEST book on the subject, this is one of the best histories ever written, even if neither perfect nor exhaustive.

I cannot recommend this book enough; it is well worth the money to purchase it and the time spent to read it. If I had to throw out all but ten of my books, this is one of the ten I would keep. I would recommend this book to someone who is not particularly interested in the era. This is an outstanding book.

"Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy", by Vincent Bugliosi

1648 pages, W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN-13: 978-0393045253

If Mr. Bugliosi hasn't gone insane writing this monolith, then nothing could shake this man's mind. What an incredible compilation, complex compendium, whatever you want to call it, it is all here. Even the kitchen sink! With a very precise approach, the former prosecutor nails down, once and for all, the Kennedy assassination, which he says, "at its core, is a very simple case". I wish all the conspiracy people were ordered by a federal judge somewhere to read this book, aloud, so that their vocal cords would become too strained to make any more nonsensical noise in the future. Awesome job, Sir, from a grateful American who appreciates the truth, especially told with great care and patience.

I have long been puzzled by the notion that JFK was killed by someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald. My early uninformed reading and research on this matter naturally led me to believe that a conspiracy was possible (if it wasn't than why so much dispute?). As I read further, however, it became clear to me that these theories were incomplete and pejorative...how could anyone who approached this crime thoughtfully and with a modicum of common sense conclude that someone other than Oswald killed JFK? It wasn't until Vince Bugliosi penned this marvelous paragon to the crime that my feelings were affirmed.

To say that this work is comprehensive is short changing it...over 1500 pages of text and 800 pages of end notes filled with detailed research and clear logic should certainly be enough to convince even the most strident THOUGHTFUL conspiracy theorist that there IS an answer to this crime: Oswald acted alone both in the murder of JFK and J.D. Tippet, and all the other theories have at best circumstantial attributes or are pure nonsense at worse. I'd challenge anyone who is reasonably open minded to come away from this work without at least some doubt concerning a conspiracy and some motivation to find evidence to the contrary. I don't think it's possible.

In reading this book one is constantly hammered with clear thought and evidence of Oswald's crime. The first section "Four Days in November" recounts the assassination in narrative form similar in pace and detail to his account of the Manson murders in "Helter Skelter". Chapter upon chapter and fact upon fact follow in sections devoted to the autopsy, the Zapruder film, Oswald's actions/character and the conspiracy possibility. Bugliosi's mastering of the Warren Commission report and supporting evidence used in that report clearly debunk the detractors of that document. All this clearly points to Oswald as the trigger man and plainly refutes any opinion to the contrary. Again, it didn't take me long to realize that this evidence made perfect sense to the thinking person.

Admittedly it is a struggle to get through this monolith...most reviewers report months and sometimes years of reading to finish (I finished in 3 months), but if one is truly after the facts and the natural conclusion of those facts than it's worth the journey. Read it and decide for yourself.