Brilliant account of the Redcoat and its leadership

Reading was iffy in areas sounded like it could have been re-recorded later in patches. Sometimes there wasn’t always the detail desired but thats what you get with a historical sweep like Restoration - Waterloo. A classic nonetheless.

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underatansing REDCOATs

Good overview of key moments in Britain's military history.

Worth a listen for a good baseline understanding.

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Fascinating.

Found this fascinating, and learned quite a few things I didn’t know. Poor Tommy Atkins is all I can say. Marlborough , Wellington et al get high rewards. The poor honest soldier gets little.

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Really splendid narrative history.

This is a thorough and accessible history of the rise of the British redcoat. Using the careers of Marlborough, Wolfe and Wellington as its focal points, it touches all the high points from the Seven Years War to Waterloo, but does not shy away from failures like the American War of Independence or Cumberland's losses in the Low Countries. Elegantly written in simple, uncluttered prose, this is beautifully read by Sean Barrett, whose masterly phrasing, tone and pacing cannot be too highly praised. Just a cracking listen.

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good listen

well written well read enjoyed this cover to cover will recommend as a winter read for anyone interested in the napoleonic wars

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1 person found this helpful

Great Book, Brilliantly read by the narrator

Saul David gets it spot on again and Sean Barrett is the perfect choice as narrator.

The Story of British Commanders such as Marlborough, Wolfe and Wellington and the Redcoat..all told so well

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Great book, but the reading could have been better

The book is a well-researched and well-exposed history of the evolution of the British army between the beginning of the Restoration and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Each of the various conflicts that Britain engaged on during that period is shown through the eyes of an iconic commander: Marlborough, Wolfe, Wellington, etc., but the narrator always keeps a keen eye on the evolution of battlefield tactic and technology and their impact on the everyday life of the common soldiers.
The only negative note concerns the reader: he keeps an even, academic tone throughout the book that I find quite appropriate to the narrative, but which sometimes stutters breaking the regular cadence of the words, as if he had found a question mark after turning a page and he had therefore to change the tone of a phrase with only the last word remaining. Still wholly recommended.

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Military history at its best

This was, without doubt, one of the best books on military history that I have read - and I've read a lot! It is a rare survey of the development of the British Army from Marlborough to Wellington and comprehensively takes into account all of the actions and campaigns in between. There is very little, if any, original material here and the book rests heavily on the work of other historians, such as Fortescue, and most admirably on the journals of the soldiers who were there. But Fortescue aside, I am not aware of any book that draws this broad landscape together in a single volume. For me Saul David is the new Fortescue and his book superbly balances authenticity and detail with storytelling that enthrallingly guides the reader through what might, with a less skillful author, be a turgid litany of wars won and lost. Quite simply, brilliant. And the same must be said for Sean Barrett's superlative performance; one of the clearest, most articulate and engaging narrations that I have heard. Fantastic. I cannot recommend highly enough.

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In depth detailed history, well put together

What does Sean Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

For a detailed dry subject he delivered life and sole to the work, with a comftable rhythm and pass.

Any additional comments?

For such a detailed history, this work covers so much information, historical context and back round either social or political leading to the fields the men of the army found them selves standing on. A very accomplished work with out being to dry and drawn as some historical factual books can be.

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Excellent read

Have "read" this twice now. A fascinating overview of the key points in English infantry history and how every hundred years or so there is a major conflict: 1705 Blenheim, 1815 Waterloo, 1914 WW1. We are due for another European conflict! Russia?

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