This outstanding biography is the story of courage. It charts the career of a superbly brave cavalryman against the rise and fall of his imperial master. Pierre Daumesnil was a loyal follower of Napoleon during his rise and his fall. Enlisting as a private soldier in 1793; he was caught up in the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars; surviving campaign after campaign and emerging as a much-decorated general and Baron of the Empire. It was a meteoric rise but one earned through hard fighting; bravery and indefatigable courage. Daumesnil accompanied Napoleon as an officer of his chasseurs and his service record reflects his years of experience on the field of battle. Daumesnil joined the French Army as a private in 1793 and was serving in Napoleon's Guides in 1797. He served in Egypt in 1798; charged at Marengo in 1800; fought at Austerlitz and Eylau; campaigned in Spain and saw action in Wagram. Terribly wounded at that battle; losing a leg; Daumesnil became governor of the fortress of Vincennes. It was here that he played his most celebrated role in the wars of Napoleon by refusing to surrender the fortress to the Allies in 1814 and again in 1815. Daumesnil's life was an adventure and one which typifies the dash; color and verve of this astonishing period. This biography; by a leading author; will appeal to Napoleonic enthusiasts and those interested in the life and times of Napoleon's elite cavalrymen.
#1108226 in Books Antique Collectors' Club 2001-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.13 x 8.40 x 11.30l; .0 #File Name: 1851493719320 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Kenneth J. WoohOne of the best book I have read.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A must-read sequel to Kingdon Ward's originalBy Nicholas TurlandIn a world where almost everywhere has been explored; it is exciting to read about the world's deepest ravine; almost inaccessible; full of vigin forest; strange plants; and animals; and still not fully explored either by Chinese or Westerners. Frank Kingdon Ward explored it in the 1920s; in what was then Tibet; leaving a stretch of several miles unknown to all but the local tribes. His original book is reproduced as the core of the present one (with some editing of his words to remove comments that would today be viewed as unacceptably racist). There are also accounts of earlier explorations of the region; including the wild borderlands of India to the south; choked by subtropical forests and then populated with violent tribes (this border region is still disputed by China and India). Kingdon Ward was a botanist; focusing on the plant life of the gorge; whereas the new book gives accounts by modern explorers and covers additional aspects; such as Tibetan religion. There are some fascinating photographs: black and white ones by Kingdon Ward and modern color ones. Two I particularly like are the same view of mountains and old-growth forest taken from a cave where Kingdon Ward camped in the 1920s. One is Kingdon Ward's photograph; and the other is taken some 75 years later; with individual trees grown larger; a large glacier melted away; and the treeline higher up the mountains. Recent; separate expeditions by Western and Chinese teams in the 1990s have shrunk the unexplored stretch of the gorge to about three miles. The discoveries of the Westerners are described and illustrated in the book; including a "new" waterfall. Unfortunately; though; politics make an unwelcome intrusion at the end of the story.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great content spoiled by bad designBy Ron B; AshevilleI was really looking forward to this book after spending quite a lot to purchase it. However I was then very disappointed to find it had been designed and printed with large blocks of the smallest text I have ever seen in a book. It is actually difficult to read.
