Excellent compilation of Napoleon medals...
582168
As a collector of Napoleon medals, one is keenly aware of the material available concerning the cataloging and enumeration of the various medals produced before, during and after the reign of Napoleon I. Most are volumes produced back in the 19th Century, of which few useable copies exist. In many cases the books themselves are as collectable as the medals they represent. Imagine my excitement upon finding this newly produced volume! Upon finding the book, I quickly ordered a copy and have been thoroughly impressed. The photographs are beautiful, large and in color and the supporting text is very accurate and interesting. Unlike most books dealing with this subject, this volume weaves in the relationship of artistry as a form of propaganda, something that Napoleon I exploited to his great advantage. The historical context of the medals is important to truly understanding their underlying linkage to Napoleon. I highly recommend this book for any student of Napoleon, whether you collect the medals, or not.
3990088
A revamping of the original print that came out in the early 90s, but not too far removed from its origins, this book comes with a flashier cover, and more dramatic jacket than the original 'standing at attention' templates we have so come to know and love. Osprey Military Books has been putting out amazing, reliable, and entertaining line of material for more years than I can remember. The books are well-researched and written, with wonderful coloured templates, original etchings, and pictures of relics and historical sites and places of import.

JENA 1806 is one of the CAMPAIGN Series in the Osprey collection, and it is in a word - Amazing! There are 96 pages covering everything from: The Origins of the Campaign, The Opposing Commanders & their forces, their battle plans, and then coverage of the Campaign itself. It goes on to discuss the Aftermath of the battle and, as well as what the battlefield looks like today. It provides information for 'Further Reading', and for the die-hards out there, it also furnishes how to Play Jena as a War-Game. It even recaps with a list of the Chronology of the battle in bold, crisp print.

The text is well written, easy and enjoyable to follow. The book is ripe with illustrations, both historical and contemporary, as well as maps, three dimensional diagrams of the battlefields, and illustrations all throughout.
There are contemporary templates of the soldiers uniforms, as well as colored maps and charts with troop movement and battle locales.

This book is perfect for both the experienced and well-versed, and the interested first timer approaching the subject. JENA 1806: NAPOLEON DESTROYS PRUSSIA is just one more superior piece of military literature that Osprey can claim as their own - and should - with pride.

A side note: as a Painter of Napoleonic Miniatures, and interested historian, this book is an excellent source of information that can be used in tandem with many of the OSPREY Men-At-Arms books on the Napoleon uniforms.
1397779
This is an excellent book. Sproccati's comments in the beginning are clear  and engaging. The best part of the book is  the collection of color plates.  This is a large book, allowing for large reproductions of many of his  paintings. High quality paper, well-focused colorful plates, almost none of  which are split over two pages, and well-organized and thought-out order  make this an outstanding value.
4902729
A very thorough well-researched account of the man and his achievements. The battles are covered in detail with maps showing positions of the armies. The personality of Napoleon is presented without bias.
4342168
Any fan of the Old American West knows that most of the "history" is basically what Napoleon described as "a fable agreed upon". Mr. O'Neal reports on the various desperadoes, robbers, law-men and rangers in an encyclopedic fashion but even admits that he is reporting and collating what has already been written, true or fable. On the very plus side, and why I recommend this volume to any enthusiast of the period, he has listed virtially anyone who used a firearm and even attempts a chronology of the shootings. All the famous, infamous and not-so-famous are included and when used as a stepping stone for more research, the book is invaluable.
This seller shipped in a timely fashion and the packing and contents were excellent!
94515
This book has a really great collection of postcards - many, of course, depicting soldiers - and they're a terrific combination of color postcards plus photo postcards (many of the latter are in sepia).  The colors in each case are quite clear, plus the written material from some of the postcards is included.  The author has also written a very interesting and informative narrative throughout the book.
3173300
I have a number of books on the Great war German Stosstruppen including Thomas Victors books. This is excellent, clearly written and offering many photos not in any of the other books I have on the subject.
 As a model maker the images provided inspiration on weapons and uniforms. The book contains artwork illustrating in colour the uniforms and equipment of the Stosstruppen from 1915 onwards.
2673641
I have a rather extensive reference library on Victorian silver and other related topics. This book, by far, is one of my very favorite about high-style Victorian & Edwardian dining & entertaining.

It provides a good overview of all aspects of the periods' food (including wine), table setting details, and table etiquette. One of my favorite section is the one devoted to silver service, but the authors also cover so much more, including crystal, china, seating & dining etiquette, meal service, the calling card & invitation, and even tips on hosting a Victorian or Edwardian dinner, plus more.

One overall attribute of this book, which I especially appreciate, is that it is totally accurate in the information provided. Oddly enough, finding reference books on this subject that are not littered with misinformation is rather uncommon. The book is also written and organized extremely well. It includes a glossary, an index, and an excellent bibliography for further reading that is arranged by subject (i.e. silver, china, glassware, dining history, dining etiquette, table setting, etc.).

Don't be put off by the higher price of this volume -- it's better and more thorough compared to half-a-dozen or more related reference books. Believe me, it's definitely worth the asking price, and it's a nice, well-bound hard-cover with pictorial glossy boards -- no dust jacket to have to keep track of or handle gingerly -- and it's not too heavy but just the right size to curl up with and enjoy. Because of the price, I did not buy this book immediately upon its release, but I'll really glad I eventually did buy it. It was NOT a disappointment, unlike far too many of the other reference books on this subject that I've bought in the past.

After reading one other reviewer's comment about not enough dazzling pictures, perhaps I should point out that this is NOT a coffee-table-style picture book. However, there are plenty of black & white pictures and illustrations that accompany the text. I did not find anything lacking.

Really, I cannot say enough "good" about this book. I am totally happy with it. Huge praise for the authors, and thank you for such a great book! 5-STARS.
2016537
This is a beautiful collection of 500 (circulated) stamps from France. Most of them are from the past 30 years, and are in a wide range of denominations. It's not likely that any of them hold any real great worth, but they are lovely to look at, enjoy, and you can mount them in any number of ways to display them. The range of designs and colors are quite amazing. There are buildings, animals, personages, treaties, inventions, scenic views, locales, and on and on. The detail on them is incredible, to the point where you need a magnifying glass to make out some of the finer components. Its a great way to review the history of France, too! Mine came in impeccable condition, with no folds or bends, few duplicates (if any at all), packaged in a single wax envelop. Simply a lovely set. Five stars.
4238853
One of the best guides on U.S. military medals. For the beginner, yet applicable to the advanced collector.
2440024
This work is well-written, well-illustrated and makes liberal use of first-hand accounts to tell the story of Napoleon's campaign in Egypt. I've read several accounts of this campaign, both as part of a larger work on Napoleon and in articles and a book that dealt specifically with this one aspect of the Napoleonic Wars. I wish I had possessed this book as many of the issues discussed in those other works would have been made more clear with the addition of Mr. Crowdy's work.

One of the few drawbacks of this book, if it can really even be considered a drawback, is that it does not discuss the soldiers deployed with Napoleon in context of the larger revolutionary army of France. However, given the format of the Warrior series there's only so much to can cram into one book and there are plenty of other works which can provide this perspective.

I highly recommend this book.
1114101
Reading a book about the equipment of the Napoleonic Wars could potentially be quite boring. Imagine endless explantions of the weight of a musketball or the length of a bayonette. Haythornthwaite however creates a book which is easy to read, short, interesting, and yet full of detailed information about the arms and equipment of the Napoleonic Wars. Haythornthwaite has once again excelled at conveying a large ammount of information in a concise book. As with his other works his lack of description, anecdotes, or opinion is countered by the artwork. Coupled together the reader will get the hard facts of Haythornthwaite while the artwork will act as his description. This is one of the many "must" have's. The book will give those interested in the subject of Napoleonic warfare an idea of how and why they fought the way they did.
2251188
This modestly sized volume is basically a portfolio of work by the members of the Royal Society of Marine Artists; texts include information about the society and there is a directory entry for each artist member.

 There are 164 colour illustrations of art works - mainly paintings but including some sculpture and drawings, executed in a variety of media and representing a very wide range of styles and  approaches to all things maritime, from ships to coastal scenes. Many of the plates are full-page and the reproduction quality is excellent.
I`m always impressed by the skill and research that goes into specialised work like contemporary views of  shipping and depictions of historic naval scenes - the fine balance between illustration and fine art. This is a lovely little book to look through and a goldmine of information for anyone who paints or is just interested in all aspects of the sea.

Check out the "look inside" option if its still available to get a preview (this is still active on the UK Amazon site), but grab it anyway; you'll be pleased you did.
3573770
I have read many books on Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars.  This new volume adds wonderful anecdotes and stories that I have never before encountered.  A great addition to the study of Napoleon the man and his times.
1836028
This approximately 8.75" x 11.25" Made in USA hardbound, heavily illustrated, book occurs in a mere 70 pps. is not an uninteresting read.  In fact, major parts of its admittedly meager contents are edifying.  The book is specifically about a tiny run of teeny medallettes that were struck for sale at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition (World's Fair).  The medals, known as Charbneau medals are listed in an important Numismatic book titled "So-Called Dollars" and have a following amongst so-called dollars collectors as well as World's Fair memorabiliasts.
The authors open with a brief, too brief, frankly (a mere 14 pps. of large-sized 14 type) history of the events leading up to and building of the Fair which is immediately followed by the most interesting, in fact down right fascinating part of the book, which is a discussion of the man who issued the medals.  In this discussion, which occurs on pps. 13-21 the authors reveal some truly revelatory information about Mr. Charbneau and his medals, and not just the so-called Charbneau Dollars, but also about an even more famous issue for the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, one of which is also listed in Hibler & Kappen's "So-Called Dollars" as HK-360.  The authors also successfully, to my mind, tie a reknowned set of golden tokens known as "Hart's Coins of the West" to its possible issuer, one Mary Hart.  This discussion alone is worth the price of admission, one believes, even though it is nowhere near exhaustive.
The final portion of the book is a catalogue of the actual Charbneau issues with varieties and a cross reference to other assigned identification numbers.
As stated above, this is a narrowly focused book that will appeal to a limited number of persons, but if you are one of them, you will certainly do well to own it.
Finally, a word about editing:  This book is sorely in need of it.  There are numerous rather amateurish errors scattered though out the text that don't reflect well upon what is to be considered the authoritative reference for these medals.
1858745
The book is very well organized and chocked full of photographs, illustrations, diagrams and tables.  This is a great resource for any WW2 German Polizei reenactor, male or female, to use as a guide in putting their uniform together.  The only down side is that the book is written in German, but it's not too much of a big deal, since the illustrations and photos are pretty much self-explanatory.
1987070
"Napoleon: The Immortal Emperor" is a sumptuous exploration of the life and legacy of the French Emperor.  This is not a conventional biography, of which there are many, but a thematic exploration of Napoleon through images with explanatory text.  While I lost whatever boyhood infatuation I had with Napoleon and learned to view him in the context of the terrible costs inflicted on the French nation and their unfortunate opponents in his long wars of conquest, an epoch was named for him and the arts reflected the glory he achieved.  Even the decorative arts were inspired by his conquest and "Empire Style" with echoes of the Near East he conquered was born.  Napoleon lived at a time when France was the artistic capital of the world and artists like Jacques Louis David, Baron Gros and Anne-Louise Girodet immortalized him.  After his death, in a nation that never again stood astride Europe in the same way, the cult of Bonaparte lived on.  Later in the 19th Century, the great military artists of France - Ernst Messionier and Edouard Detaille - continued to paint Napoleon and his soldiers.  When his grandson, Napoleon III was the French autocrat, the Empire style was revived and paintings of Napleon's days of glory were purchased for the state. Finally, in the 20th Century he became the subject for countless films and this legacy is given the same visual exploration in the volume. This vivid exploration of Napoleon - the man and the myth - is written by Gerald Gengembre who is a professor of French literature at the University of Caen in Normandy.  He has assembled several hundred illustrations, each annotated with relevant detail so that he reveals each facet of the man and history's interpretation of him.  This large book will be of interest not only to those with a fascination with Napoleon and his time, but to those with an interest in beautifully crafted paintings and French culture.