Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies, and Three Battles

by Bernard Cornwell, Igor' Letberg (Translator)

Overview

Napoleonovskie voyny — eto odin iz samyh znamenityh periodov v evropeyskoy istorii i odno iz klyuchevyh sobytiy, opredelivshih sud'by mnogih narodov. V hode ih Napoleon Bonapart zavoeval polovinu mira — i poteryal vse. Poterpev porazhenie v Voyne shestoy koalicii, on otreksya ot prestola i otpravilsya v ssylku, odnako istoriya Bonaparta na etom ne zakonchilas'. 18 iyunya 1815 goda armii neskol'kih stran soshlis' pod nebol'shim gorodkom nepodaleku ot Bryusselya, Vaterloo. Vo glave voysk soyuznikov stoyal gercog Vellington — polkovodec, ne proigravshiy na tot moment ni odnogo srazheniya. Vo glave francuzskih voysk — Napoleon Bonapart. Ssyl'nyy imperator, bezhavshiy s ostrova El'ba. Velikiy strateg. CHelovek, izmenivshiy istoriyu. Ego zhizn' nashla otrazhenie v ogromnom kolichestve istoricheskih issledovaniy, hudozhestvennyh proizvedeniy, fil'mov, teleserialov. Vaterloo — ego posledniy shans. Napoleonu Bonapartu potrebovalos' sto dney, chtoby vernut'sya k vlasti i vnov' ee lishit'sya. Bitva pri Vaterloo stala reshayushchey dlya imperatora, dlya Francii i, nesomnenno, dlya Evropy. Avtor razvorachivaet pered chitatelem panoramu sobytiy i pokazyvaet voynu vo vsey ee gryazi, zhestokosti i beschelovechnosti. Na osnove bol'shogo kolichestva dokumental'nyh materialov Bernard Kornuell vosstanavlivaet sud'bu Napoleona na protyazhenii Sta dney, podgotovku k voennoy kampanii, hroniku srazheniy pri Katr-Bra, Lin'i i Vaterloo i politicheskie posledstviya, kotorye oni imeli. Ranee kniga izdavalas' v serii «Istoriya voyn i voennogo iskusstva» pod zagolovkom «Vaterloo: Istoriya bitvy, opredelivshey sud'bu Evropy».

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9785389215610
Publisher:	Colibri
Publication date:	10/20/2023
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	953,502
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Language:	Russian

About the Author

Бернард Корнуэлл — кавалер ордена Британской империи за заслуги в литературе, автор саги о стрелке Шарпе и таких мировых бестселлеров, как "Азенкур", "Экскалибур", "Саксонские хроники". Его блестящая полновесная историческая проза открывает читателю тот мир Средневековья, о котором не пишут в учебниках. Корнуэлл называет себя "дитя войны": он родился в 1944 году в Лондоне. Его отец был канадский лётчик, а мать служила во вспомогательных частях ВВС. Его усыновила семья из Эссекса, принадлежавшая религиозной секте "Особые люди". Он вырвался оттуда и поступил в Лондонский университет. По окончании университета работал учителем, затем десять лет посвятил службе в Би-би-си: начал репортером, а закончил руководителем службы новостей в Северной Ирландии. По словам Корнуэлла, он не занялся бы писательским трудом, если бы не встреча с будущей женой-американкой — она не могла переехать в Англию, а он не добился разрешения на работу в Штатах. "И тогда я со злости подумал, что напишу эти проклятые книги..." Так в 1981 году появился первый из историко-приключенческих романов о бравом Ричарде Шарпе, ставших бестселлерами по обе стороны океана. После восьмой книги Корнуэлл подписал с Би-би-си контракт на экранизацию всего цикла. В настоящее время Бернард с женой Джуди живут в Массачусетсе. Их дом стоит на полуострове Кейп-Код — мысе Трески, который называют островком Америки в самой Америке, — и львиную долю свободного времени супруги проводят на своей яхте "Роялист".

Table of Contents

Foreword 5

Preface 9

1 Glorious news! Nap's landed again in France, Hurrah! 17

2 Napoleon has humbugged me, by God! 41

3 The fate of France is in your hands! 63

4 Avancez, mes enfants, courage, encore une fois, Français! 81

5 Ah! Now I've got them, those English! 105

6 A cannon ball came from the Lord knows where and took the head off our right-hand man 133

7 The Big Boots don't like rough stuff! 155

8 Those terrible grey horses, how they fight! 181

9 We had our revenge! Such slaughtering! 205

10 The most beautiful troops in the world 227

11 Defend yourselves! Defend yourselves! They are coming in everywhere! 257

12 Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained 283

Aftermath: A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee 309

Afterword 337

Acknowledgements 341

Bibliography 343

Index 348

Editorial Reviews

At the end of ‘Waterloo,’ readers will feel that they could command a battalion themselves. With historical accounts like this, who needs novels for excitement?” — Wall Street Journal

“Waterloo may be a well-mined topic, but this new presentation is bound to satisfy lovers of military history….[Cornwell] injects a human element into a thorough and entertaining account.” — Publishers Weekly

“No one, not even the great military historian John Keegan, describes or explains battle better than Cornwell….Cornwell illustrates so clearly and with such an assured sense of pacing that this messy and confusing set of battles is easier to follow, understand, and thus appreciate.” — Library Journal, starred review

“Waterloo is a fabulous story, superbly told….Cornwell cannot be bettered.” — Max Hastings, Sunday Times (London)

“Both vivid and scholarly….Readers new to the Waterloo campaign could hope for no better introduction and veterans will find fresh insights.” — The Independent

“A great and terrible story told with energy and clarity by a writer who has a deep understanding of men in combat and why they do what they do.” — The Economist

“The history of the Battle of Waterloo told by a master storyteller.” — Shelf Awareness

“In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed historical novelist Cornwell (The Empty Throne, 2015, etc.) employs his storytelling skills to bring military history out of the textbook…. A fascinating, detailed, and generously illustrated description of the battle that changed the fate of 19th-century Europe.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Bernard Cornwell proceeds at a brisk canter and his descriptions of the fighting are as gripping as any in his splendid Sharpe novels.” — The Times (London)

“A lot of historians could learn from Cornwell’s approach. He sets the scene, fleshes out the main characters and lets the story unfold to its dramatic conclusion. An excellent first foray into non-fiction.” — Evening Standard (London)

“Brings a shrewd military historian’s mind to his subject…thrilling to read…Cornwell’s is from start to finish a gripping account, red in tooth and claw. Serve with a robust burgundy.” — The Spectator

“Bernard Cornwell’s lively account of Waterloo...is a clear account...Cornwell is a storyteller....for those who want a.... reliable guide to what happened at Waterloo, he has great appeal. His book is also superbly illustrated” — New Statesman

“As you would expect from a writer who is the acknowledged expert on the Napoleonic Wars he is superb on the tiny details as well as on the bigger picture.” — Daily Express (London)

“Cornwell has found deserved popularity with his Sharpe series of historically accurate novels set in the Napoleonic Wars. For the first time, he turns his gung-ho novelist’s skill to an actual account of the supreme battle of the conflict…. Written with all the excitement of a popular novel.” — Literary Review

“A real page-turner… in which Cornwell shows real insight into the Waterloo campaign.” — BBC History Magazine

“This master storyteller’s take on events comes highly recommended to those new to the genre and Waterloo aficionados alike.” — Soldier Magazine

From the Publisher

Waterloo is a fabulous story, superbly told….Cornwell cannot be bettered.

Max Hastings

A lot of historians could learn from Cornwell’s approach. He sets the scene, fleshes out the main characters and lets the story unfold to its dramatic conclusion. An excellent first foray into non-fiction.

Evening Standard (London)

A great and terrible story told with energy and clarity by a writer who has a deep understanding of men in combat and why they do what they do.

The Economist

Both vivid and scholarly….Readers new to the Waterloo campaign could hope for no better introduction and veterans will find fresh insights.

The Independent

At the end of ‘Waterloo,’ readers will feel that they could command a battalion themselves. With historical accounts like this, who needs novels for excitement?

Wall Street Journal

Bernard Cornwell proceeds at a brisk canter and his descriptions of the fighting are as gripping as any in his splendid Sharpe novels.

The Times (London)

The history of the Battle of Waterloo told by a master storyteller.

Shelf Awareness

As you would expect from a writer who is the acknowledged expert on the Napoleonic Wars he is superb on the tiny details as well as on the bigger picture.

Daily Express (London)

A real page-turner… in which Cornwell shows real insight into the Waterloo campaign.

BBC History Magazine

Bernard Cornwell’s lively account of Waterloo...is a clear account...Cornwell is a storyteller....for those who want a.... reliable guide to what happened at Waterloo, he has great appeal. His book is also superbly illustrated

New Statesman

Brings a shrewd military historian’s mind to his subject…thrilling to read…Cornwell’s is from start to finish a gripping account, red in tooth and claw. Serve with a robust burgundy.

The Spectator

This master storyteller’s take on events comes highly recommended to those new to the genre and Waterloo aficionados alike.

Soldier Magazine

Cornwell has found deserved popularity with his Sharpe series of historically accurate novels set in the Napoleonic Wars. For the first time, he turns his gung-ho novelist’s skill to an actual account of the supreme battle of the conflict…. Written with all the excitement of a popular novel.

Literary Review

At the end of ‘Waterloo,’ readers will feel that they could command a battalion themselves. With historical accounts like this, who needs novels for excitement?

Wall Street Journal

Above all, the narrator conveys the relentless carnage. Dugald Bruce Lockhart, a well-known Scottish actor, is very effective at narrating works such as this. Using changes in timing and intonation, he makes the listener feel the soldier’s chaos—the deafening cannonade and musketry and screams and shouts and pain. The historical backstory is not the focus here; it’s the battle, plain and simple and immensely complex. The author wrote about it before, especially in his fictional SHARPE’S WATERLOO, published in 1990, part of the bestselling Richard Sharpe series. Cornwell himself narrates the foreword and prologue. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JULY 2015 - AudioFile