"Napoleons' Apogee" Topic

Dear Matt
I was talking simply of the Bressonet translation and not the extra information and illustrations. This would be considered two different markets. It is just a thought for a few years time.

Stephen

I wonder how large the market would be for a stripped-down version… having access to the maps and tactical illustrations is a big part of the appeal to me, and I for one am willing to pay extra for that value-added content. I've been pushing Napoleonic figures off & on for 20+ years and know of only a handful of people in my area (probably less than 10% of the Napoleonic gamers in town) that are interested in something like Bresonnet's study, and most of them have popped for the fully-loaded version.

The producers have their vision of what they want out of the project and have followed that. $165 USD is a lot for a book compared to many of the titles out there, but in the grand scheme of things it's the equivalent of 3-4 video console games, or maybe the cost of a single night out on the town, or about as much as two upper-deck tickets to a Vikings game (not including parking, food, etc.). People make choices about what to spend their money on.

The second point I want to make is that those in financial difficulties can always ask me to reserve their book as long as practicable. I will hold it at the current price.
Some people have performed work in exchange for books. I've got piles of work here.

Others have asked to make an installment plan. I've done that many times.

Some of you may know the stranglehold that the middle men
have on selling books into bookstores and libraries. Sell five books into libraries for me, and you'll get one free, I assure you.

Organize your club and buy five. Take advantage of that discount.

Contact me with creative solutions of your own.

Sell some copies of your books that have gone out of print and are overpriced perhaps. Sell some of your old miniatures. Paint 200 miniatures and sell them. Save $20 USD a month for high end book buying.

Don't waste your time at a Vikings game; sell game ticket to a Bears fan giving him the satisfaction of seeing his new quarterback…

Buy 2 books for the club at pre-pub prices and sell one, giving access to all.

I really think there is a creative way out of the problem if Bressonnet is a priority for your Napoleonic collection. Perhaps I should have made these ideas available earlier.

Thou "doth protest too much, methinks."

Napoleon's Apoplexy, perchance?

Interesting thread especially Matts comments on the cost of the books and how much they will be worth in the future but who buys a book just to make a profit I thought you bought them because of interest you had in the subject. I would buy a paperback edition of this book for the extra information as I alreay have Bressonets original work.It seems very sad that what was an interest should come down to Dollars and Cents a shame.

Wagram

I'm not all together sure of the direction this thread is heading, nor why, but for what it is worth, here is my 2p worth – I've also got Bressonnet's original, together with several dozen other books, in e-format, for which I offer Mr Smith my unending gratitude ;-), so I didn't need to buy this one – I had to think long and hard about purchasing this book, for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was cost. I tried to whip up interest amongst my friends, with little success, but eventually I took the plunge.

I am not someone who will speculate on future prices, I intend to have this book, in fact all my books, for as long as I am able to read them and let my kids worry about what to do with them.

If a paperback version were available for any of the MHP works them I'd buy them immediately, not as a replacement or as an alternative, but an addition – something I can take to meetings or club evenings without worrying too much about other people's grubby fingers.

This book is quite simply stunning, it is worth every penny of it's full price and in my opinion is a real bargain at the pre-publication one.

This thread is going the same direction that many of the Napoleonic threads go. There's at least two loose groups of folks from the Napoleon Series who don't like each other, and since they're not allowed to get the knives out at the NS, they filter over here to act as seagulls on their nemesis' threads.

As an outsider to all of this, it amazes me that people for both (all?) camps distribute a lot of interesting information in their posts but then drag their average post quality down through this systematic thread-crapping. It doesn't make any of them look good IMO.

le boo,

Sad, really. Really sad, really. I wish they would stop.

Sincerely,

Big Al

So do I. Thanks for validating my point.

Sometimes I am called "The Validator" in hushed tones. Also in other places!

Big Al

lebooge I note your post and fully agree with you about this situation could you please name these people for my future reference this will enable me to disregard their postings. My own posting was my personal thoughts on the matter of costs and why you would by a book for gain.

Wagram

The internet is a poor method of communicating.

Never a truer word said.

The ship bearing the Apogees is in the Panama Canal, about a week or so from landing on the east coast.

OK Matt
I have not recived my copy yet no problem as I know it will arrive and it will be just like christmas but how about a Prussian or Russian work next, we have had the French and English veiw of the Wars for years and years.

How about a translation of Kreig 1809 with all the fixins?

William

Thank you William for your question.

We have Prussian and Russian books in the works, on the score of 2-5 projected titles.

I am actively soliciting German translations. If you know of anyone you can recommend, let me know.

Send me an email about a certain Atlas.

Best Regards

To MattDLM,
Any word yet as to when the most recent shipment of "Napoleon's Apogee" will arrive and be out to distributors such as OMM?

I received mine yesterday and was really pleased with the results.

I have mixed feelings about Scott Bowden, some are good, but I especially disliked his books on Austerlitz and Gettysburg, but this is an excellent addition to the library. The translation is clear and makes easy reading. Since this is a Victorian work I was expecting something much 'heavier' and yet Bowden has imbued it with a lightness. Thank you Scott, I was impressed.

My copy arrived Friday and it appears to be fantastic. Scott, Matt, et al., it looks like you have outdone yourselves. I am looking forward to spending quality time with over the coming months.

Echoing what others have already said, to which I would like to add that while there are many superlatives that one can use to describe this book, I think "utterly superb" is what sticks in my mind.

Matt, truly exceptional art direction. You have a gift for breathing life into the past.

Scott, since I have a copy of an original Bressonnet, my thanks for a masterful job in translation as well as your enormous amount of work supplementing the original text.

Steven Palatka's terrific original artwork in this volume is, I think, better than the excellent plates in Napoleon's Finest.

The unique tactical diagrams by Arne Limner are incredibly helpful additions and that better explain Bressonnet's detailed narrative. Whoseever idea that was deserves applause.

To summarize, what an effort! I cannot imagine the number of hours it took to produce this very important contribution to the literature of the era. Thanks guys. What's next?

Me ke aloha,

MJ