This is a superb account of one of the pivotal battles of the Napoleonic Wars--Leipzig--the so called 'Battle of the Nations'. It was here in 1813, after Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign that the great allied powers of Europe brought him to account and where he suffered the defeat which would herald his ruin, bring an end to the First Empire and the demise of an epoch. What makes this book utterly compelling is that it is told as part history, part firsthand experience, by someone who was at the very heart of the turmoil--within the city itself. Observations from high vantage points enabled the author to witness and then graphically describe the maelstrom of battle as it swirled about him and--more dangerously--as it swept in to touch and threaten his very life. This book is an essential component of every library of Napoleonic history and is available in softcover or hardback with dust jacket.