J. David Markham Napoleonic History

This book covers the period from Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo to his surrender to the British.

From the dust jacket:

Napoleon’s incredible career went through a number of distinct periods. Much has been written about his rise to power, his time as leader of France, his final defeat at Waterloo and his exile on St Helena. But the short critical period of his fall from power, the few months in 1815 between Waterloo and his departure to St Helena, has received less attention. J. David Markham’s gripping new study focuses on this, Napoleon’s last effort to control his own destiny, and the final dramatic episodes in his fateful career.

The immediate aftermath of Waterloo is as fascinating as any stage in Napoleon’s career. The story combines elements of treachery and deceit, indecision, error, politics and law. It features high drama and a good measure of pathos. During this time Napoleon could have held on to power, escaped to the United States or been shot, and the story of how he came to surrender to the British will leave the reader amazed. As J. David Markham unravels the web of politics and intrigue that surrounded the defeated emperor, he gives a penetrating insight into Napoleon the man during the darkest, most difficult months of his life. His account also offers a sharp insight into the powerful, often devious personalities of the cast of characters who played leading roles in the drama. He quotes extensively from the diaries and memoirs of the principal actors, including Napoleon himself, in order to reconstruct the complex, fast-moving sequence of events.

J. David Markham’s graphic account is a valuable contribution to the history of the Napoleonic epoch, and it gives a compelling insight into Napoleon in the months and days when he was forced to relinquish his grip on power.

ISBN: 978-1-84415-751-8

This anthology collects seven of the top stories in the alternate military-history genre by writers Harry Turtledove, Kim Stanley Robinson, John Mina, William Saunders, Michael F. Flynn, and editor Mike Resnick and submits them to scrutiny by seven eminent historians to find out just how probable the events they describe really are. Addressing pivotal historical events—including the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan, the Battle of New Orleans, radical politics and Southern strategy in the mid-20th century, the Napoleonic wars, Alcibiades’s sack of Syracuse, the American Civil War, and Kenya’s fight for independence from Britain—this book seeks to find out how different circumstances could have affected world history. Historians present intriguing questions about these events, such as Could our atomic bomb policy really have been changed by one faulty screw? What if Napoleon had become emperor of the United States, leading such heroes as Crockett and Houston in the Battle of New Orleans? Would Admiral Nelson’s defection to France really have altered the course of the Napoleonic wars? Would President Lincoln’s assassination during the Gettysburg Address have left the Confederacy as a separate country? From one end of the historical spectrum to the other, this book looks at what didn’t happen in military history to gain a richer understanding of all that did.

As editor, I wrote a general introduction and introductions to each of the articles. I also wrote a response to one of the alternative histories. An abridged audio book has also been produced (that includes all that I wrote), and I was honored to be one of the readers.