An excellent book

Alan Forrest is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of York. He has published widely on French Revolutionary and Napoleonic history in France and Europe, on the history of armies and war, and on the cultural history of modern France, most recently a biography of Napoleon.

The launch title in this new series aims to tell the stories of the world's most important battles and the long historical shadows they have cast. The Battle of Waterloo ended Napoleon's imperial dreams, and 2015 marks its 200th anniversary. "It was the most desperate business I ever was in; I never took so much trouble about any battle; and never was so near being beaten," said the Duke of Wellington.

Waterloo was the last battle fought by Napoleon.