Customer Reviews
collection of myths and prejuces - By: AnB, 17 Jun 2008 
The book is an exellent example of manipulation of history made by somebody with a strong ideological background. The only goal of Zamoyski is to show that Russia & Russians have nothing to do with the defeat of Napoleon & this defeat was ceased by anything else - bad weather, illness of Napoleon or maybe little green alliens. The plan of the campaine desined by Barklay de Tolly & followed by Kutuzov is not mentioned at all. Kutuzov is shown as a stupid & lazy idiot (this is an example of manipulation again - he is characterisedin the book by exepts from letters of his rivals & enemies only).
Another problem is a discription of brutality of the war. From the book it is completely impossible to understand why russians flew from Moscowin the view of Frensh army. Just a hint: every russian town on the road from Smolensk to Moscow was burnt to ashes. Author ignores any notes about mass executions of russian PoWs (de Segur, Memoires, polish regiment killed all russian PoWs they had to escort).
As well sometimes I had an impression that Napoleon's army consisted mostly from polish regiments with a few italian ones.
The book is written with the great hate to Russia & Russians & has nothing to do with the history.
This is the most fantastic book - By: Mr. H. T. K. Sanders, 26 Mar 2008 
This is the most fantastic book. I was riveted from start to finish. It conjours the beauty of 18th century war with all its posing finery while defly describing the horrifying fate of its victims & it's perpetrators. Zamoyski's style is simple & unadourned. He lets the story write itself but what a story it is & how beautifuly the atmosphere of the occassion is caught. The arrogance & mercurial inteligence of Napoleon is brilliantly portrayed. It is almost as if you are actualy beside him as he is delivering one of his monologues while striding across the snow to his departing carriage.
I'd give it six stars if I could - By: Uncle Vodka, 24 Dec 2007 Outstanding book. Extremely informative, very readable indeed. I couldn't put it down & read it with the enthusiasm of an adolescent reading a Playboy. The narrative was very interesting, battle tactics were easy to follow (mapsin the right places)and you don't lose the thread of who is who (which I, not being an expert historian, tend to do with some history books). I'm sorry I can only give it five stars. If you have a passing interestin this piece of history but worry about whether you can really invest time & energyin a book of this size, put your worries aside & go for it, you won't regret it.
Excellent! - By: Big Dave, 02 Nov 2007 Whilst it gets off to a slow start, this book is well worth a chapter or two's perseverance. It combines a clear, detailed overview with personal accounts of the campaign & reads like a novel: perfect for those of us who are reading about it for the first time.
Buy it.
Stunning, a triumph - By: Didier, 30 Oct 2007 I'm really not sure if I can do this book enough justicein the space of a tiny review. Before reading it I was, like many others perhaps, very much aware that Napoleon's march on Moscow was a turning pointin his career &in European history, but apart from that, well... largely ignorant. Reading Zamoyski's book changed all that, & the only regret I have is not having read it earlier.
"1812" is a stunning history book! The 25 chapters are 'bite-size', just the right size to read at least one chapter each evening before going to bed (or two, or three... I found it very hard to put this book down), &in them Zamoyski gives a fascinating account of the entire campaign (beginning with the reasons why, & ending with the aftermath). In doing so he strikes a perfect balance between on the one hand a crystal-clear analysis of the broader political/military scene & motivations of the principal actors, & on the other hand lots of small but telling anecdotes.
One of the things that struck me most is how (as Zamoyski clearly demonstrates) few of the events were the result of intelligent, strategic decisions taken with clear goalsin mind, but rather how one thing led to another & decisions were often reduced to the choice between the lesser of two evils. It's astonishing really, & all the more so if you come to realize the enormous costin human misery & lives resulting from these decisions.
Zamoyski includes literally hundreds of extracts of private correspondence, notes, diaries, etc. from Napoleon & Tsar Alexander themselves down to foot soldiers, which don't detract from the main story but always succeed very wellin illustrating the point Zamoyski is trying to make. I'm sure most of us are aware Napoleon's Grande Armée didn't have a field dayin this campaign, but just how horrific it actually was is perhaps never better said thanin the (often very moving) words of the actual participants. Last but not least the book contains 23 simple but clear maps, & is writtenin impeccable English.
This is a real feast from cover to cover!
