The rise of the Emperor begins with a basic chronology of events from 1802 - 1807 before providing a very brief summary of background events between 1800 - 1805. The book then reaches its stride with a wholly excellent introduction to the armies, commanders and styles of the various competing nations. One possible problem with these opening chapters are the frequent references to details and events which go unexplained: for instance, the casual mention of a military reform that didn't work, which leaves the reader to wonder, what reform? However, readers are left in no doubt that they are actually scratching the surface of a vast and heavily argued subject, and although these references may irritate a few people, they will intrigue most others and encourage further reading. I have encountered too many textbooks and overviews which give the impression that their very well written, but heavily simplified, text covers everything.

The book then moves into a narrative overview of events, mixing the description of troop movements and battlefield events with references to the larger political and economic factors affecting both sides. Volume one closes with the case-studies of two individuals and a brief sketch of how art and society was affected by the conflict, before a short conclusion looks forward to later events.

The empires fight back takes the same format, beginning with an account of the 'peace' at the end of 1807/start of 1808 and a summary of changes to each nation's armed forces, before a narrative guides you through the events of 1809 to Napoleon's failure in 1812. Case studies and a brief conclusion follow.

Although both books will stand-alone, they have been designed as a cohesive unit, to be read in order: volume two doesn't summarise the events featured in volume 1, or offer any form of background. Instead, the text simply carries on from where the first book finished. Although some readers may prefer a précis of events, others will applaud the lack of repetition; the decision certainly makes the books better value for money, and must have allowed Fisher a few extra pages worth of text.

The core narrative of each book is a solidly written account of the campaigns and battles, throughout which Fisher explains the larger tactics being employed, as well as providing short but exciting descriptions of each battle, focusing on the overall troop movements and results. These are accompanied by some good-looking maps, although I would have preferred a couple more, to accompany major actions like Austerlitz and Jena. Fisher foreshadows later events well, often flagging a decision, or an individual, which will be of consequence in later volumes. A large quantity of excellent pictures are arranged around the text, some in glorious full colour, and many captions have been used to provide brief, but very informative, biographies of major individuals. More importantly, Fisher hasn't been afraid to make conclusions, and his opinions are always well-reasoned.

Overall, these two volumes mark an excellent addition to Osprey's Napoleonic material, and as introductions to the subject they are hard to match. Although anyone who eventually buys all four books could have purchased David Chandler's excellent, and far more detailed, Campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars instead, no one should compare. Osprey have distilled the Napoleonic Wars into a series of short, and thus highly approachable, volumes which combine a well-written text with strong illustrations and design, providing a solid grounding in the subject; perfect for anyone who doesn't want to plunge straight into a thousand page behemoth!

Volume 1:

Volume 2: