1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow [Paperback]

‘So brilliant that it is impossible to put the book aside … A master craftsman at work.’ Michael Burleigh, Sunday Times

‘Zamoyski’s book is a brilliant piece of narrative history, full of sparkling set-pieces, a wholly fascinating account of what must be reckoned one of the greatest military disasters of all time.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘No review can do justice to the scholarly integrity and human sensitivity of this book, or to the horror is describes … “1812” is one of the greatest stories ever told.’ Christopher Woodward, Spectator

‘An utterly admirable book. It combines clarity of thought and prose with a strong narrative drive.’ Daily Telegraph

‘A gripping tale.’ Economist

‘The best non-fiction version to be written so far … Zamoyski is brilliant at explaining what it must have been like to be a foot soldier.’ Mail on Sunday

'So brilliant that it is impossible to put the book aside ! A master craftsman at work.' Michael Burleigh, Sunday Times 'Zamoyski's book is a brilliant piece of narrative history, full of sparkling set-pieces, a wholly fascinating account of what must be reckoned one of the greatest military disasters of all time.' Sunday Telegraph 'No review can do justice to the scholarly integrity and human sensitivity of this book, or to the horror is describes ! "1812" is one of the greatest stories ever told.' Christopher Woodward, Spectator 'An utterly admirable book. It combines clarity of thought and prose with a strong narrative drive.' Daily Telegraph 'A gripping tale.' Economist 'The best non-fiction version to be written so far ! Zamoyski is brilliant at explaining what it must have been like to be a foot soldier.' Mail on Sunday

'Magnificent... the description of the retreat is one of the most vivid and horrifying passages of history I have read...' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'Astounding... one of the most extraordinary narrations I have read, with many of the attributes of a great painting.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'Has the immediacy of eyewitness reporting. Much of it is almost too painful to read.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

'Brilliant, chilling account of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow has striking resonances for a new Europe.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Up to no.4 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

"4 star review.....applauding Zamaoyski's, 1812, as the 'best non-fiction version to be written so far..." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Adam Zamoyski’s bestselling account of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and his catastrophic retreat from Moscow, events that had a profound effect on European history.

In 1812 the most powerful man in the world assembled the largest army in history and marched on Moscow with the intention of consolidating his dominion. But within months, Napoleon’s invasion of Russia – history’s first example of total war – had turned into an epic military disaster. Over 400,000 French and Allied troops perished and Napoleon was forced to retreat.

Adam Zamoyski’s masterful work draws on the harrowing first-hand accounts of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the conflict. The result takes the reader beyond the invasion of Russia to present both a poignant tale of the individual foot soldier and a sweeping history of a turbulent time.

The saga of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and the catastrophic retreat from Moscow has fascinated not only military historians; Tolstoy’s War and Peace demonstrates the dramatic appeal of those events at a universal human level. This is the story of how the most powerful man on earth met his doom, and how the greatest fighting force ever assembled was wiped out.
By 1810 Napoleon was master of Europe, defied only by Britain, which he could not defeat because he had no navy. His intention was to destroy Britain through a total blockade, the Continental System. But Tsar Alexander of Russia now refused to apply the blockade, and Napoleon decided to bring him to heel.
Napoleon quickly realised that nemesis awaited him, and the events of 1812 had a colossal impact on the fate of Europe: a great patriotic surge helped turn the Russians into a nation (hence Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812’ overture) and led them to reject Western values; the Germans began their fateful ‘Prussification’; the French lost their cultural dominance. And Napoleon’s legend – as man of destiny – began to exert its insidious fascination. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Adam Zamoyski was born in New York but has spent most of his life in England. A freelance historian with a singular command of languages, his recent books include ‘1812: Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow’, ‘Rites of Peace: The Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna’ and ‘Warsaw 1920: Lenin’s Failed Conquest of Europe’. He is married to the painter Emma Sergeant.