Status
Available
Call number
Library's review
Frankrig, Rusland, 1812
Indeholder "Dramatis Personae", "Command Structures and Coalitions", "Introduction: Old Bones", "1. Incarnate", "2. A Portable Metropolis", "3. Drumbeat", "4. Crossing", "5. Pursuit", "6. Smolensk", "7. The Sound of Flames", "8. Smoke", "9. At Borodino", "10. Clash", "11. The
Meget levende beretning om de mange, der døde af tyfus undervejs til og fra Moskva. Baggrunden med Napoleons ikke længere helt så kække føring af land og tropper. En gigantisk hær, 690000 mand stor. Mellem 550000 og 600000 af dem krydser Niemen og invaderer Rusland. Tyfus har allerede fra starten godt ved og de russiske generaler undgår konfrontationer. Ved Smolensk koster et slag Napoleon 19000 mand og russerne 14000 mand. Ved Borodino går det løs den 7 september 1812. Her koster en gigantisk gensidig nedslagtning Napoleon 28000 mand og russerne 45000 mand. Napoleons overtro og manglende satsning på læger i feltet er dog endnu dyrere.
Hans livlæge Dominique Jean Larrey forholder ham ikke noget, men Napoleon nægter at tro på tallene for syge og døde.
Efter slaget ved Borodino indtager Napoleon Moskva, blot for at opdage at den er forladt pånær et efterladt korps af brandstiftere, der brænder byen ned til grunden. Napoleon havde planlagt at tvinge zar Alexander til at slutte fred, men må indse at der ingen vilje er til kompromis. Slukøret sætter han kursen hjemad den 16. oktober 1812.
Glimrende bog om en kæmpekatastrofe, alene forårsaget af Napoleon selv.
Indeholder "Dramatis Personae", "Command Structures and Coalitions", "Introduction: Old Bones", "1. Incarnate", "2. A Portable Metropolis", "3. Drumbeat", "4. Crossing", "5. Pursuit", "6. Smolensk", "7. The Sound of Flames", "8. Smoke", "9. At Borodino", "10. Clash", "11. The
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Hospital", "12. The Last City", "13. Decision", "14. Two Roads", "15. Graveyard Trees", "Epilogue: Rendezvous in Germany", "Author's Note: The Doorway of the Hospital at Tunis", "Glossary", "Notes", "Sources", "Acknowledgements", "Index".Meget levende beretning om de mange, der døde af tyfus undervejs til og fra Moskva. Baggrunden med Napoleons ikke længere helt så kække føring af land og tropper. En gigantisk hær, 690000 mand stor. Mellem 550000 og 600000 af dem krydser Niemen og invaderer Rusland. Tyfus har allerede fra starten godt ved og de russiske generaler undgår konfrontationer. Ved Smolensk koster et slag Napoleon 19000 mand og russerne 14000 mand. Ved Borodino går det løs den 7 september 1812. Her koster en gigantisk gensidig nedslagtning Napoleon 28000 mand og russerne 45000 mand. Napoleons overtro og manglende satsning på læger i feltet er dog endnu dyrere.
Hans livlæge Dominique Jean Larrey forholder ham ikke noget, men Napoleon nægter at tro på tallene for syge og døde.
Efter slaget ved Borodino indtager Napoleon Moskva, blot for at opdage at den er forladt pånær et efterladt korps af brandstiftere, der brænder byen ned til grunden. Napoleon havde planlagt at tvinge zar Alexander til at slutte fred, men må indse at der ingen vilje er til kompromis. Slukøret sætter han kursen hjemad den 16. oktober 1812.
Glimrende bog om en kæmpekatastrofe, alene forårsaget af Napoleon selv.
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Publication
Three Rivers Press (CA) (2010), Edition: 1, Paperback, 315 pages
Description
In a dual narrative that pits the heights of human ambition and achievement against the supremacy of nature, Stephan Talty tells the story of a mighty ruler and a tiny microbe, antagonists whose struggle would shape the modern world. --from publisher descriptioin
User reviews
LibraryThing member bgknighton
A good solid history. Shows how vulnerable the powerful are to epidemics and how they have shaped history. Napoleon lost his campaign due to his own follies, but typhus might have defeated him in the end anyway.
LibraryThing member JohnHastie
A fascinating and compellingly-readable account of Napoleon's failed Russian campaign of 1812 and the REAL reason it was such a disaster: a horrible typhus epidemic that was ignored and mishandled. The Illustrious Dead combines the best of commercial history with a healthy dash of science/medical
For example:
The microbe that causes typhus is one of the oldest bits of biology on the planet.
At one point 4000-5000 soldiers were dying PER DAY on the march to Moscow.
At the time, the Catholic Church considered to bathing to be immodest and therefore, a sin.
Great stuff.
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lit. It's filled with great little bits of information that I'll love having on hand at the next party I'm invited to (hint, hint)...For example:
The microbe that causes typhus is one of the oldest bits of biology on the planet.
At one point 4000-5000 soldiers were dying PER DAY on the march to Moscow.
At the time, the Catholic Church considered to bathing to be immodest and therefore, a sin.
Great stuff.
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LibraryThing member jimocracy
This was just too tedious and boring for me.
LibraryThing member slug9000
I am an avid reader of medical history books, especially the history of diseases. This was not my favorite for a few reasons.
First, this book is more or less a story of Napoleon's attempt to invade Russia. The typhus story is a consistent theme, but it frankly is not the main story. Now, in
Second, I like wartime histories, but some of the battle scenes in this book were exceptionally drawn-out and boring, especially if you are going into it looking for a medical drama. If you are looking for details about Napoleon's invasion of Russia, this is probably your book, but it is still kind of dry. The subject matter itself is actually very dramatic (typhus is a horrible way to die, and the details of the army's brutal march, occupation of Moscow, creation of battlefield hospitals, etc, are actually pretty interesting), but the writing makes an otherwise interesting subject matter seem like a slog.
The description of the inadequate makeshift hospitals was probably the best (worst?) part of this book because of the fact that medical knowledge at the time is so far removed from what we know today, and the battlefield hospitals were grossly unprepared for the number of battlefield and typhus casualties. If you are at all squeamish, I do not recommend reading these sections.
Overall, I give this book three stars because it contained good information, but it is not really a book about typhus, and it is somewhat boring as historical nonfiction goes.
First, this book is more or less a story of Napoleon's attempt to invade Russia. The typhus story is a consistent theme, but it frankly is not the main story. Now, in
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fairness, I don't think you can adequately explain how typhus was able to ravage the Grand Armee so easily unless you provide context, so in that regard, the Russian invasion narrative was necessary to some degree. That being said, I felt as though the subtitle ("How Typhus Killed Napoleon's Greatest Army") is misleading because it implies that the book's central focus is typhus when it really wasn't. Second, I like wartime histories, but some of the battle scenes in this book were exceptionally drawn-out and boring, especially if you are going into it looking for a medical drama. If you are looking for details about Napoleon's invasion of Russia, this is probably your book, but it is still kind of dry. The subject matter itself is actually very dramatic (typhus is a horrible way to die, and the details of the army's brutal march, occupation of Moscow, creation of battlefield hospitals, etc, are actually pretty interesting), but the writing makes an otherwise interesting subject matter seem like a slog.
The description of the inadequate makeshift hospitals was probably the best (worst?) part of this book because of the fact that medical knowledge at the time is so far removed from what we know today, and the battlefield hospitals were grossly unprepared for the number of battlefield and typhus casualties. If you are at all squeamish, I do not recommend reading these sections.
Overall, I give this book three stars because it contained good information, but it is not really a book about typhus, and it is somewhat boring as historical nonfiction goes.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
315 p.; 20.5 cm
ISBN
0307394050 / 9780307394057
Local notes
Omslag: W. G. Cookman
Omslagsillustration: Art Resource
Omslaget viser en hær under transport med soldater til fods og på hestevogne med materiel og våben
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 177: With a typical flourish, he presented the abandonment of the nation's capital as an unorthodox offensive tactic.
Side 184: There was no enemy worthy of the name to stop the French advance.
Side 188: People who would burn their own city to the ground were clearly not prepared to negotiate. 'This forebodes great misfortune for us!' he said while watching the fires burn on September 17 from the safety of the Petrovskie Palace. There would be no delegation of nobles knocking at his door.
Side 189: The fire raged through the night of the 16th and into the 17th, so bright that it was said one could read a book five miles from Moscow by the light of the flames. Finally, on the 18th, the inferno subsided and Napoleon made his way back to the Kremlin. The four days since they had first looked down on the unearthly city had transformed it utterly: from an Eastern masterpiece of gold turrets and centuries-old wealth to a burned-out, blackened shell where everything and everyone was covered with soot and mud.
The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleons Greatest Army
Omslagsillustration: Art Resource
Omslaget viser en hær under transport med soldater til fods og på hestevogne med materiel og våben
Indskannet omslag - N650U - 150 dpi
Side 177: With a typical flourish, he presented the abandonment of the nation's capital as an unorthodox offensive tactic.
Side 184: There was no enemy worthy of the name to stop the French advance.
Side 188: People who would burn their own city to the ground were clearly not prepared to negotiate. 'This forebodes great misfortune for us!' he said while watching the fires burn on September 17 from the safety of the Petrovskie Palace. There would be no delegation of nobles knocking at his door.
Side 189: The fire raged through the night of the 16th and into the 17th, so bright that it was said one could read a book five miles from Moscow by the light of the flames. Finally, on the 18th, the inferno subsided and Napoleon made his way back to the Kremlin. The four days since they had first looked down on the unearthly city had transformed it utterly: from an Eastern masterpiece of gold turrets and centuries-old wealth to a burned-out, blackened shell where everything and everyone was covered with soot and mud.
The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleons Greatest Army
Pages
315
DDC/MDS
| 940.2742 |