By 1814, Napoleon had lost control of continental Europe: the French emperor was defeated by a coalition of other European powers, he abdicated the throne and he was forced into exile on the island of Elba off the Italian coast. The Bourbon monarchy, deposed decades earlier during the French Revolution, was restored to power. In 1815, Napoleon escaped Elba and retook the French throne, ushering in the Hundred Days period, during which he had a real chance of restoring France's lost imperial glory. Those hopes were dashed at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, when a joint Anglo-Dutch-Prussian force decisively defeated Napoleon's army. The emperor abdicated and was exiled again, this time to Saint Helena in the mid-Atlantic, where he died in 1821.
That pivotal battle is the subject of Waterloo: A New History by British veteran and military historian Gordon Corrigan (A Great and Glorious Adventure; The Second World War). Corrigan spends the first half of the book establishing the history, people, places and equipment involved before giving a thrilling account of the battle itself. He is detailed enough to satisfy military history buffs without losing general readers, though the occasional listing of brigade numbers and minor officers might feel overwhelming. His prose is clear and engaging, sprinkled with gratifying details and footnotes revealing dry British humor. Waterloo should have a broad appeal to nonfiction readers, even those unfamiliar with the Napoleonic Wars. It is available in time for the battle's bicentennial this year. --Tobias Mutter, freelance reviewer