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The Peninsular War: A New History | 
 enlarge | Author: Charles J. Esdaile
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £6.68
You Save: £6.31 (49%)
New (20) Used (3) from £6.68
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 104442
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.3
ISBN: 0140273700
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9780140273700
ASIN: 0140273700
Publication Date: October 2, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
Get Gates instead September 25, 2007
Mr. Stephen Carre
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Very simple review - how can you take an 'academic' work seriously when it can't even be consistent with its spelling between the index and the main text? If you want a single volume history of the Peninsular War, get David Gates' excellent Spanish Ulcer instead.
 I suppose it's a history but could it have been more interesting? May 29, 2007
chris (NE UK)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have very mixed emotions on this book. By that I mean that I feel this book covers a lot of the political and spiritual aspects of the Spain through the war very well but tends to skip over the major actions in the process (what I would call the interesting bit!). I suspect I'm comparing the author's opinions against what I have read before instead of actually looking at the 'historical' content presented. For me there is probably too much crammed into this paperback anyway. The publisher has definitely not done the book any favours by issuing it in small type and I distinctly sense the feeling that the author insists (pushy) you think his way and no other opinion counts. Didn't like the trying to influence me bit in the slightest. I prefer the Michael Glover book I reviewed recently though there is a very strong part of the Spanish side discussed in this book as opposed to the latter, unfortunately it is presented in a very negative light (actually not Esdailes' fault the Spanish effort was in most cases supremely negative anyway) but I just got bored of reading pages of the same kind of response - Greed, selfishness, incompetence and negativity, regardless of the facts this just does not make inspiring reading in the least. See what you think?
Peninsula Wars September 11, 2006
S. Bond
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Having seen and read a lot about this subject, I found this book a bit different. At times it was hard going but it did give me a better general insight into this period of history. I am glad I read it as it has broadened my knowledge.
Stephen Bond
 This book is impressive and the final balance, Excellent September 1, 2006
Jesus Maria Maroto Las (Spain)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
In the last few years, excellent works have been published in Spain about the Peninsular War on both the regional and provincial levels as well as the local one. The last British or Anglo-Saxon contribution disseminated in Spain was by David Gates in 1987, very possibly inclined towards the military aspect. Gabriel Lovett's contribution was published in Spain in 1975. Tone, the most recent contributor, only deals with guerilla warfare.
In the case of the book by Charles Esdaile, it is not easy to write a study in which one tries to combine social, economic, political and military aspects in each chapter. It is even harder to summarize it. One cannot make everyone happy when summarizing. In a certain chapter, some description of a fact will be missing so it seems incomplete to us. In another chapter, we possibly will not like the interpretation of an event. It is not about that. On the contrary, the general framework of this book is impressive and the final balance can be described as Excellent. The reading of the book will make us realize that each chapter is a book in and of itself and prove that Charles Esdaile has written, in fact, 18 little books. This is the distinction, if it can be described as such, of Charles Esdaile's work. As it is a book of reference, its consultation will be obligatory. For that reason, if a book is recommended, its presence should not be missing from the collection of one interested in the Peninsular War. The reading of each chapter is an authentic exercise in actualization and the final bibliography makes the previous books obsolete.
It is possible that Peninsular War: A New History will displease a certain group of Spanish readers. The explanation is due to how the Peninsular War has been covered for many years, both in popular education and various history books. According to them, Spain won the war thanks to the guerrilla and the British army doesn't seem to play more than a secondary role. Esdaile's book changes these stereotypes and reduces the roles of the various myths, like the guerrilla, to the level at which they deserve. But this is not liked, and even less in demonstrating that this war made many negative aspects come to light for the Spanish. It is about assuming those things that are true and Esdaile demonstrates them, thanks to a very profound work, not only in the British archives, but also thanks to many years of work in the Spanish archives. Few historians can put together a comparative study of this level.
Jesus Maroto de las Heras
 History tolls for british superiority (and Spain is a country of morons) as always July 25, 2006
Jesus Santamaria Antonio (Madrid)
7 out of 29 found this review helpful
This is a pretentious dull book, whose only finality is to claim again, by definition, the british superiority (militarily and politicaly) over Napoleon (and France) on the harsh land of Spain, while making mockery of poor spaniards inability to fit into a hypocritical tea room world.
The author incapability to set himself free from primay school prejudices about the non-british world, kills his no doubts big ambition (patent in the long paragraphs style of writing with few substance and dubious meaning). How anybody can be an honest historian if by definition Wellington is without macula always, his setbacks are never his fault, Britain is a mighty power alyays seeing and constructing milimetricaly the future, Moore's retreat was not ferocious...?.On the contrary, the French were stupid arrogants, and cruels, not to speak of the, by definition inferior human beings, those moron Spaniards. The thing is still worse because this author distill not only misregard but a profound hate (then he is afraid of something?) toward Spain, not so toward Portugal . There is no compasion, never. Nothing good by definition could came from these lesser people... And we have to consider this author an historian...?
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