""Black Bob" Craufurd" Topic

Ian Fletcher's long awaited biography of Robert Craufurd has finally appeared. It's an impressive 600+ pages and from my very cursory flick through when it arrived on Friday, it's excellent. Very good value on Amazon at the moment.

link

Damn your eyes sir…..uugghh….now I will HAVE to get it…🤔😮😉😃

It may be a great deal on Amazon in the UK, but that is not the case here in the US. Oh well.

Mark

English publisher, English subject – blame those Amazon algorithms?

in case buy from amazon uk then, I noticed a lot of difference in prize between different amazon agencies, and I buy the cheapest, did save me a lot of money to buy French books directly from amazon.fr

You would really have to be a diehard enthusiast to plunge through this. Letters to his wife?

I've never read one of his books though. Is he a compelling writer?

I think the point of including the letters to his wife is to show that Craufurd was more than than one-dimensional "martinet" he is usually portrayed as? Fletcher would probably be considered a "popular" historian by some on this site but his books are very readable and he is very knowledgeable about the Peninsular War. He used to run a Battlefield Tour company.

I got the book delivered yesterday morning (6th) I have only read a couple of pages at the moment. I do take issue with the pictures in the middle of the book. There are 12 pages of them. All of them are in black and white, which includes family and Miniature portraits and the odd 'more modern' battle scenes which include the famous 'The Rearguard' There are also pictures and photographs of buildings that were significant in Craufurd's life. Even the reproduction in monochrome of these pictures is absolutely terrible. I wonder if Ian had any say in this travesty that shouldn't be so in 2021.

I only hope that Ian's Biography of 'Black Bob' does a good job of telling the story of a very complicated and perhaps, mentally afflicted man of duty, loyalty, bravery, and deep love for his wife

There are maps of all the battles that Craufurd was involved in and the book itself is about the same size (590 pages) as one of Oman's volumes

I only hope that Ian's Biography of 'Black Bob' does a good job of telling the story of a very complicated and perhaps, mentally afflicted man of duty, loyalty, bravery, and deep love for his wife

It's so romantic, like Russell Crowe in "Gladiator"

One man's struggle against bipolar disorder set against the backdrop of causing as many casualties in the Peninsular War as possible, not only on the French but on his own troops as well. All in an effort to get back to the woman he loves and promote world peace.

So it won't be on your Christmas List?
I don't think any of us are bothered.

So it won't be on your Christmas List?
I don't think any of us are bothered.

You're so right. I just hope they printed enough copies to satisfy the hundreds of thousands of Crauford's excited fans.

Really don't see the point of bleating about a book you're never going to read? Those of us who are interested will spend our own money, read the book and either like it or not.

I like a well written military book, no matter what the subject. If the book is exceptional, please write a review and i am happy to approach its purchase without prejudice.

Frankly, considering dibble's international reputation for book reviews, I was lazily waiting on his fulsome opinion of its contents.

I'm only a quarter of the way through and he's already fought on 4 continents?