A compulsive page-turner ... a triumph of brilliant storytelling ... an instant classic that is an awesome, remarkable and exuberant achievement -- Simon Sebag Montefiore Evening Standard Radically alters our assumptions about how Napoleon was beaten -- Andrew Roberts Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year (He creates) an historic canvas that is both overwhelming and meticulous ... he inevitably touches the nerve points of modern power politics. The Economist A compulsive read. This master storyteller and scholar has written an instant classic that is awesome, remarkable and exuberant. -- Simon Sebag Montefiore The Scotsman An essential reference ... the Princess would have approved. The Spectator (An) erudite, monumental piece of historial research ... it's a great tale with a clear argument, baked by an impressive array of sources and detail. -- Charles Clover Financial Times A superbly crafted book -- Alexander M. Martin TLS A lucid and detailed account -- Geoffrey Hosking London Review of Books