Dancing into Battle: A Social History of the Battle of Waterloo

Examining a battle that has become one of the most famous in history, this definitive volume chronicles Napoleon's defeat by British, Dutch, Belgian, and German forces on June 18, 1815, in Waterloo, Belgium. Battles were then localized affairs: Waterloo was fought on a piece of land approximately the size of Central Park. For a good many of the men who fought there, in fact, war was something of a sport—a feeling reinforced by the image of the Duke of Richmond cheering on his sons in battle. There are few sporting events, however, that end with 56,000 dead, dying, and wounded men and at least 10,000 horses in a similar state. Nick Foulkes' brilliantly realized portrait of the eve of battle brings a fresh perspective to this turning point in European history.