Waterloo

Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 220K words
Chapters: 23

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Waterloo by Hilaire BellocAuthor: Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953,Language: English, Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe, Release Date: May 11, 2010

Editor's review

Hilaire Belloc's Waterloo is a compact campaign history with pronounced judgments. Belloc, himself an essayist and historical writer, brings a strong personal style and argumentative edge to the text; he is not content to list events but focuses on analyzing the decision-making logic and battlefield misjudgments of Napoleon, Wellington, and Blücher. The book clearly lays out the battle's key moments—such as the final assault of the Guard and the timing of the Prussian army's arrival—while not shirking criticism of commanders' errors on all sides. For readers seeking a quick overall understanding of the Waterloo campaign, this is a more accessible introduction than massive campaign histories; however, its views are highly subjective and some judgments are disputed among historians, so readers should read critically and compare with other works. As a public-domain ebook, it suits beginners' reference on campaign history and English-language original reading material.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in the Napoleonic Wars and the Battle of Waterloo
Military history enthusiasts who want to grasp the campaign's outline in a short space
Learners who need English-language original military history material for reading practice
Readers who enjoy histories with a distinct authorial viewpoint and argumentative style

Not a good fit for

Professional military researchers seeking detailed tactical data and order of battle
Readers who want a completely neutral narrative free of personal stance
Beginners who find nineteenth-century English polemical prose difficult

Reading tips

Read with a map of the Waterloo battlefield, marking key locations and troop movements.
Read a campaign chronology before the main text to grasp the sequence of events and movements of each side.
Pay attention to the author's evaluative statements; after reading, compare with other campaign histories to form your own judgment.
For the English original, use annotations or a translation to lower the barrier of proper nouns and long sentences.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How reliable is the historical accuracy of this book?

The book is written within a basic factual framework, and the campaign's main events and figures are broadly reliable, but Belloc has clear personal judgments and argumentative tendencies, and some evaluations and causal analyses are disputed. It is best read as an introductory guide, with important conclusions checked against more specialized campaign histories.

Can I understand it without background knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars?

You can follow the main thread, but the experience will suffer. The book assumes some familiarity with the coalitions against France, Napoleon's abdication, and the Restoration. Spending a little time first on the overall situation of the 1815 campaign will make reading much smoother.

Is this book suitable as a textbook for military academies?

Not really as a formal textbook. It is brief and personal in viewpoint, lacking systematic tactical data and organizational detail, and is better suited as supplementary reading or an introduction for enthusiasts. Professional teaching should use campaign studies with complete data and rigorous annotation.

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About the author

Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953 Author

Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) was an English writer whose prolific output spanned poetry, history, and travel writing. The library holds 26 of his works, covering a wide range of subjects: travel essays such as The Path to Rome, which records the sights and reflections of a walking pilgrimage; humorous verse for children, including Cautionary Tales for Children, The Bad Child's Book of Beasts, and A Moral Alphabet, known for their playful language and sharp satire; and historical studies of battles such as Crécy, Poitiers, Malplaquet, and Tourcoing, which emphasize narrative and detail. His style is distinctive, often blending humor, epigram, and personal judgment. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, yet these works already show his ease across genres and the enduring appeal of his writing.