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The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story of How Typhus Killed Napoleon's Greatest Army |  | Author: Stephan Talty
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $27.00
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Seller: bargainbooks37
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 88611
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st edition,
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307394042
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.2742
EAN: 9780307394040
ASIN: 0307394042
Publication Date: June 2, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“Gripping . . . a compelling story of personal hubris and humbling defeat.”
—Jack Weatherford,author of the New York Times bestseller Genghis Khan and the Making of the
Modern World
In a masterful dual narrative that pits the heights of human ambition and achievement against the supremacy of nature, New York Times bestselling author Stephan Talty tells the story of a mighty ruler and a tiny microbe, antagonists whose struggle would shape the modern world.
In the spring of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte was at the height of his powers. Forty-five million called him emperor, and he commanded a nation that was the richest, most cultured, and advanced on earth. No army could stand against his impeccably trained, brilliantly led forces, and his continued sweep across Europe seemed inevitable.
Early that year, bolstered by his successes, Napoleon turned his attentions toward Moscow, helming the largest invasion in human history. Surely, Tsar Alexander’s outnumbered troops would crumble against this mighty force.
But another powerful and ancient enemy awaited Napoleon’s men in the Russian steppes. Virulent and swift, this microscopic foe would bring the emperor to his knees.
Even as the Russians retreated before him in disarray, Napoleon found his army disappearing, his frantic doctors powerless to explain what had struck down a hundred thousand soldiers. The emperor’s vaunted military brilliance suddenly seemed useless, and when the Russians put their own occupied capital to the torch, the campaign became a desperate race through the frozen landscape as troops continued to die by the thousands. Through it all, with tragic heroism, Napoleon’s disease-ravaged, freezing, starving men somehow rallied, again and again, to cries of “Vive l’Empereur!”
Yet Talty’s sweeping tale takes us far beyond the doomed heroics and bloody clashes of the battlefield. The Illustrious Dead delves deep into the origins of the pathogen that finally ended the mighty emperor’s dreams of world conquest and exposes this “war plague’s” hidden role throughout history. A tale of two unstoppable forces meeting on the road to Moscow in an epic clash of killer microbe and peerless army, The Illustrious Dead is a historical whodunit in which a million lives hang in the balance.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
illustrious book January 30, 2010
Juan Bwon Jovi (Prague, CZ)
I have no idea how or why I acquired this book. Did Typhus kill Nap's army? Well, who really cares? It sat unread for quite some time. Then I started reading it and got very engrossed in the thing. You find some writers who have a way of transporting you directly into a place you've never been before. I could very clearly see the battles of Nap's army as they faced disease and the Russians. This is an amazing book. Amazing. Most history books bore me, but this one is very much alive!!!
THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD: THE TERRIFYING STORY OF HOW TYPHUS KILLED NAPOLEON'S GREATEST ARMY November 29, 2009
Robert A. Lynn (Orlando, Florida)
THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD: THE TERRIFYING STORY OF HOW TYPHUS KILLED NAPOLEON'S GREATEST ARMY
STEPHAN TALTY
CROWN PUBLISHERS, 2009
HARDCOVER, $27.00, 320 PAGES, GLOSSARY, NOTES, MAPS, CHARTS
Apart from the Battle of Waterloo and the Campaign of the Hundred Days, no episode exerts a greater fascination over the military historian or general reader with an interest in the Napoleonic period than the Campaign in Russia, 1812. The subject has inspired Tchaikovsky's famous Overture, many memoirs by participants who survived the great cataclysm (Russian as well as French and their allies), historical analysis almost without number, numerous notable paintings, perhaps the greatest novel ever written (Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace), a number of films and television series, and at least half-a-dozen war games (boxed and video). It's been 197 years since Napoleon launched his huge, ill-fated attack on Tsarist Russia. The subject still grips, confounds, horrifies, yet fascinates the reader. For the student of military history, the events of 1812 are full of interest. Although overshadowed by events in Eastern Europe, it should also be recalled that the war in the Iberian Peninsula was reaching its first great climax, as Wellington secured control of the twin corridors linking Portugal and Spain (but not without such gory events as the storming of Badajoz) and then proceeded to commence the liberation of Spain (aided by the reductions in French manpower ordered by Napoleon to build up his armament along the Polish frontier), leading to the Battle of Salamanca (news of which only reached Napoleon on the eve of the Battle of Borodino-a comment on the communication problems of the time), the joyous occupation of Madrid, and then the setback before Burgos which led to a rapid retreat back to Portugal, with everything to be recontested in 1813. The year 1812 also saw the Anglo-American war break out in the Western hemisphere, with its dramatic frigate actions at sea and its American setbacks on land. It was indeed a year of destiny for a strife-torn world. Stephan Talty's THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD: THE TERRIFYING STORY OF HOW TYPHUS KILLED NAPOLEON'S GREATEST ARMY is an impressive and serious account of one of the most fascinating military campaigns in history. It is hard to comprehend what is meant by casualty figures on the scale involved. The Grande Armee's central army group-perhaps 525,000-men strong at the outset-came out of Russia only some 25,000 strong. Of 250,000 horses, only 18,000 skeletal mounts and draught animals survived. Of more than 1,000 guns taken over the Niemen River frontier in June, 1812, a mere 120 remained with the army in early January, 1813. Possibly the most expensive day in world history, in terms of human loss of life and misery caused by conventional batle, was 7 September 1812-the Battle of Borodino. By nightfall, a joint total of at least 74,000 soldiers had become casualties, including no fewer than 71 generals. But another powerful and ancient enemy awaited Napoleon's men in the Russian steppes. Virulent and swift, this microscopic foe would bring Napoleon to his knees. Even as the Russians retreated before him in disarray, Napoleon found his Grande Armee disappearing, his frantic doctors powerless to explain what had struck down a hundred thousand soldiers. Napoleon's vaunted military brilliance suddenly seemed useless, and when the Russians put their own occupied capital to the torch, the campaign became a desperate race through the frozen landscape as troops continued to die by the thousands. Yet Talty's sweeping account takes us far beyond the doomed heroics and bloody clashes of the battlefield. The author delves deep into the origins of the pathogen that finally ended Napoleon's dream of world conquest and exposes this "war plague's" hidden role throughout history. Few generals were as brilliant as Napoleon, and few military campaigns as titanic-and puzzling-as his invasion of Russia in 1812. Who really defeated Napoleon? In THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD: THE TERRIFYING STORY OF HOW TYPHUS KILLED NAPOLEON'S GREATEST ARMY, Author Stephan Talty offers a bold and provocative new assessment. Agree or disagree, it is sure to stimulate debate among many students of the Napoleonic Wars.
Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida
 Disease, the biggest killer of soldiers until recently November 3, 2009
Robert Muirhead (Melbourne, Australia)
"The Illustrious Dead", by Stephen Talty is sub-titled "the terrifying story of how typhus killed Napoleon's greatest army. That is pure hyperbole, presumably dreamt up to sell more books.
The book does not need such sensationalist flourishes. Talty writes well. That, plus the epic nature of Napoleon's 1812 Russian Campaign, is sufficient to ensure the book would sell well.
Until quite recent times, disease has always been a bigger cause of military casualties than actual battle.
Most accounts of military campaigns focus on the politics, strategies and personalities involved. Logistics and other factors are mentioned where they played a decisive role. Illness and disease are rarely given the prominence they deserve.
Talty's book is a welcome account of just how important disease has been in military campaigns. He also briefly describes how typhus spread even further once infected troops returned home.
Napoleon entered Russia with 440,000 frontline troops. Four months later, he had only 75,000 left. Perhaps 200,000 of the losses were due to disease, primarily typhus. The extent of the losses caused doctors of the day to remark upon it.
It is a pity that Minard's famous chart of Napoleon's Russian Campaign ([...]) was not included in the book. His chart is the best depiction one can find of the horrendous losses incurred on that campaign. It would have made an excellent cover illustration.
Had the losses been less, perhaps Napoleon would have been bolder in using his troops in battle, especially at Borodino, where he has been criticised for not committing his reserves to battle at decisive moments.
The battle of Borodino is described reasonably well for the general reader, but particularly harrowing is the following chapter on "The Hospital." The book is worth reading for this chapter alone. As a description of battlefield "medicine" it is one of the better accounts I have read. This shows Talty's writing at its best.
It is pointless to speculate on the "what ifs" of history, but Talty gives a plausible account of what may have been the result of a French victory in Russia. It is un-necessary padding, in my opinion.
Modern readers can't readily appreciate the physical impact of the immense distances soldiers marched in the days before mechanisation. Napoleon's army marched truly epic distances during the campaign. On occasion they had to undertake forced marches to achieve tactical surprise. This mobility was one of the features on Napoleon's armies. But long, gruelling marches with poor food and shelter make the impact of disease.
I would have liked a better account of Russian strategy and tactics after Borodino. These aspects are treated very cursorily. Talty focuses more on the personal foibles of Katuzov, the Russian commander. This may have distracted the reader from the main tale, so I can understand the omission.
There are some maps illustrating the major battles in Russia, but they are impressionistic only and will disappoint readers who are interested in the tactical details of the battles. It would have been useful to have one overall map of the whole theatre of operations so readers could quickly locate place names.
One minor quibble is the amount of repetition throughout the book. "The Belgian doctor J L R de Kerckhove" is mentioned a number of times in the text. Why not simply refer to "Dr de Kerchove" after the first reference? A lengthy description of the progress and symptoms of typhus in its victims is given twice. This is sloppy editing.
"The Illustrious Dead" is a welcome book. It was high time someone wrote a good account of how disease wasted Napoleon's army and probably indirectly influenced his tactics at crucial times.
An excellent choice for any collection September 18, 2009
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD: THE TERRIFYING STORY OF HOW TYPHUS KILLED NAPOLEON'S GREATEST ARMY provides a powerful narrative telling of how Napoleon's army was crushed by disease at the height of its powers. As Napoleon saw his army vanishing - some 100,000 soldiers were struck down - his military strategies were rendered inoperative. This is more than another Napoleon biography or military history: it delves into the origins of typhus and considers its ongoing role affecting world history. An excellent choice for any collection.
 Typhus? What typhus? September 5, 2009
C. Peckham (Tucson, AZ United States)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I'm not given to writing reviews unless I feel strongly...I regret that this book offers little about typhus and less evidence that "typhus killed Napoleon's greatest army. I'm guessing the editors said: A history of the campaign of 1812 won't sell; spice it up with a disease. Although typhus MAY have killed many, the author offers scant evidence that it was the predominate killer and most quoted sources refer to the men succumbing to 'fever' along with deprivations of all kinds. If you are interested in a book about Napoleon's disasterous war with Russia you may find this interesting but it is not "The terrifying story of how typhus killed Napoleon's greatest army".
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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