Napoleon's Cursed War: Spanish Popular Resistance in the Peninsular War, 1808-14 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781844670826)

In this definitive account of the Peninsular War (1808-14), Napoleon's six-year war against Spain, Ronald Fraser examines what led to the emperor's devastating defeat against the popular opposition--the guerrillas--and their British and Portuguese allies. As well as relating the histories of the great political and military figures of the war, Fraser brings to life the anonymous masses--the artisans, peasants and women who fought, suffered and died--and restores their role in this barbaric war to its rightful place while overturning the view that this was a straightforward military campaign. This vivid, meticulously researched book offers a distinct and profound vision of "Napoleon's Vietnam" and shows the reality of the disasters of war: the suffering, discontents and social upheaval that accompanied the fighting.

Author: Ronald Fraser
ISBN-10: 1844670821
ISBN-13: 9781844670826
Publisher: Verso
Language: English
Published: 03/01/2008
Pages: 672
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.27lbs
Size: 9.38h x 6.38w x 1.58d

Review Citation(s):
London Review of Books 11/06/2008 pg. 18
Choice 04/01/2009