{"title":"Charles Esdaile","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the tumultuous world of Napoleonic Spain with Charles Esdaile. A master of military and political history, Esdaile's meticulously researched books bring the era's drama and complexity to life. Explore now!\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"napoleon-s-wars-book-charles-esdaile-9780141014203","title":"Napoleon's Wars","description":"Attempts to reframe our understanding of Napoleon. This book creates a different context for Napoleon's career. It sees the battles as almost side-effects, the consequences of rulers being willing to take the immense risks of fighting or supporting Napoleon - risks that could result in the extinction of entire countries and regimes.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49518271725841,"sku":"GOR002000220","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49556948156689,"sku":"GOR004989274","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49780205256977,"sku":"NGR9780141014203","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50629251825937,"sku":"GOR001854993","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50985014034705,"sku":"GOR008300097","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52502344728849,"sku":"NLS9780141014203","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53574381142289,"sku":"CIN0141014202G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0141014202.jpg?v=1751226786"},{"product_id":"napoleon-s-wars-book-charles-esdaile-9780713997156","title":"Napoleon's Wars","description":"No other soldier has provoked as much argument as Napoleon Bonaparte.  Was Napoleon a monster, driven on by an endless, ruinous quest for military glory - or was he a social and political visionary brought down by the petty, reactionary kings and emperors, clinging to their privileges?  Napoleon’s Wars is a book which has no doubt about Napoleon’s insatiable greed for military glory, but it is interested in far more than that. Charles Esdaile is profoundly interested in a pan-European context: what was it that made the countries of Europe fight each other, for so long and with such devastating results. The battles themselves he sees as almost side-effects; the consequence of rulers being willing to take the immense risks of fighting or supporting Napoleon - risks which resulted in the extinction of entire countries.     This is history on the grandest and most ambitious scale: a superb reassessment of a tumultuous era.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49527498014993,"sku":"GOR003235672","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49611499798801,"sku":"GOR008319532","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50268687794449,"sku":"GOR003186444","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/071399715X.jpg?v=1750881253"},{"product_id":"peninsular-war-book-charles-esdaile-9780140273700","title":"The Peninsular War","description":"For centuries Spain had been the most feared and predatory power in Europe - it had the largest empire and one of the world's great navies to defend it.  Nothing could have prepared the Spanish for the devastating implosion of 1805-14. Trafalgar destroyed its navy and the country degenerated into a brutalized shambles with French and British armies marching across it at will.  The result was a war which killed over a million Spaniards and ended its empire. This book is the first in a generation to come to terms with this spectacular and terrible conflict, immortalised by Goya and the arena in which Wellington and his redcoats carved out one of the greatest episodes in British military history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49531989819665,"sku":"GOR002041788","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49637309055249,"sku":"GOR001479484","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49725148037393,"sku":"NGR9780140273700","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50116856185105,"sku":"CIN0140273700A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50127686074641,"sku":"CIN0140273700G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50429296247057,"sku":"GOR003083920","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52102770721041,"sku":"CIN0140273700VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53132195463441,"sku":"GOR009417682","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0140273700.jpg?v=1751132813"},{"product_id":"30-second-napoleon-book-charles-esdaile-9781782407553","title":"30-Second Napoleon","description":"Almost two centuries since his death, Napoleon Bonaparte remains the subject of vigorous debate. On one side are those with a romantic attachment to ideals of liberty and democracy, on the other are those who would rather see him as an ambitious warlord, bent on establishing a colonial empire in the heart of Europe. 30-Second Napoleon takes in both viewpoints, presenting an engrossing introduction to one of the most recognizable figures in history and one of extraordinary interest whichever point of view you take, romantic or pragmatic: one who did much to modernize Europe, and who stood for both a powerful state and for rational and efficient government, plus such principles as equality before the law and the career open to talent—achievements that explain his continued fascination for so many people.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49553433559313,"sku":"GOR010161401","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50532523639057,"sku":"GOR013988229","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782407553.jpg?v=1751457791"},{"product_id":"napoleon-s-wars-book-charles-esdaile-9780143116288","title":"Napoleon's Wars","description":"No military figure in history has been quite as polarizing as Napoleon Bonaparte. Was he a monster, driven by an endless, ruinous quest for military glory? Or a social and political visionary brought down by petty, reactionary kings of Europe? In the most definitive account to date, respected historian Charles Esdaile argues that the chief motivating factor for Napoleon was his insatiable desire for fame. More than a myth-busting portrait of Napoleon, however, this volume offers a panoramic view of the armed conflicts that spread so quickly out of revolutionary France to countries as remote as Sweden and Egypt. Napoleon's Wars seeks to answer the question, What was it that made the countries of Europe fight one another for so long and with such devastating results? Esdaile portrays the European battles as the consequence of rulers who were willing to take the immense risks of either fighting or supporting Napoleon-risks that resulted in the extinction of entire countries. This is history writing equal to its subject-grand and ambitious.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49677358858513,"sku":"CIN0143116282G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49930887332113,"sku":"CIN0143116282A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50999500112145,"sku":"NIN9780143116288","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51319028613393,"sku":"CIN0143116282VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51414450962705,"sku":"GOR008605777","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0143116282.jpg?v=1751436552"},{"product_id":"napoleon-s-wars-book-charles-esdaile-9780670020300","title":"Napoleon's Wars","description":"No military figure in history has been quite as polarizing as Napoleon Bonaparte. Was he a monster, driven by an endless, ruinous quest for military glory? Or a social and political visionary brought down by petty, reactionary kings of Europe? In the most definitive account to date, respected historian Charles Esdaile argues that the chief motivating factor for Napoleon was his insatiable desire for fame. More than a myth-busting portrait of Napoleon, however, this volume offers a panoramic view of the armed conflicts that spread so quickly out of revolutionary France to countries as remote as Sweden and Egypt. Napoleon's Wars seeks to answer the question, What was it that made the countries of Europe fight one another for so long and with such devastating results? Esdaile portrays the European battles as the consequence of rulers who were willing to take the immense risks of either fighting or supporting Napoleon-risks that resulted in the extinction of entire countries. 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He famously gobbled up his déjeuner in a cramp-inducing 10 minutes, dispatched a Spartan supper in 20 or less, and only indulged in four hours of nightly shut-eye. So it’s only fitting for a history book to boil down the colossus’s tumultuous rise and fall from grace to quick-fire in 30-second chapters (and counting).\" - France Today   Almost two centuries since his death, Napoleon Bonaparte remains the subject of vigorous debate. On one side are those with a romantic attachment to ideals of liberty and democracy, on the other are those who would rather see him as an ambitious warlord, bent on establishing a colonial empire in the heart of Europe.  30-Second Napoleon takes in both viewpoints, presenting an engrossing introduction to one of the most recognizable figures in history and one of extraordinary interest whichever point of view you take, romantic or pragmatic: one who did much to modernize Europe, and who stood for both a powerful state and for rational and efficient government, plus such principles as equality before the law and the career open to talent--achievements that explain his continued fascination for so many people.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50110500667665,"sku":"GOR008706446","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1782405100.jpg?v=1751090277"},{"product_id":"french-wars-1792-1815-book-charles-esdaile-9780415150422","title":"The French Wars 1792-1815","description":"A highly original and critical introduction to the revolutionary and napoleonic conflicts. 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Almost every regiment of the Spanish Army is represented - including such extraordinary units as the Royal Corps of Cosmographic Engineers - while the beautiful full-page, hand-colored engravings of the originals have been supplemented by a transcript of the details (in brief, the senior officers and the uniforms) given in the published edition of the army's order of battle, to which the album reproduced in the pages of this work was intended to complement. Also included is a substantial introduction to the Spanish Army in the period immediately preceding the Peninsular War - written by the leading expert on the subject - that will be of great interest to any student of that conflict; the soldiers seen in the book are, after all, pretty much the same as the soldiers who suddenly found themselves fighting Napoleon in 1808. 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