A detailed account of the Napoleonic Wars is provided by the military historian Gunther Rothenberg as one part of Cassell's multi-volume series covering the history of warfare. The treatment is predominantly military rather than social and the matter-of-fact and dispassionate text is rich in tactical details and statistics and augmented by contemporary paintings and well-designed maps and diagrams. The actions of the protagonists' commanders are also critically assessed, with much attention given to Napoleon himself, stressing the power of his charisma but showing that his insistence on sole control ultimately proved a weakness. Significantly,The Napoleonic Wars aims to show that, far from being the end of a military era, this was a period marking the origins of modern warfare. Developments in army organisation, strategy and weaponry gained from the experience of over 20 years of war are progressively indicated and the main points of Rothenberg's argument, that Napoleonic strategies continued to be followed later in history and that the sheer scale of war was revolutionary, are summed up in the brief epilogue. The bulk of the broadly chronological text is uncluttered by too much speculation, so for anyone interested in military history The Napoleonic Wars should be particularly appreciated for its clarity. --Karen Tiley