Book Review

The Battle of Borodino: Napoleon Against Kutuzov. By Alexander Mikaberidze, Pen and Sword Books, 2007

Reviewed by David Markham

The Battle of Borodino has long captured the imagination of students of the Napoleonic period. There have several studies in English of the Battle of Borodino, a conflict between Napoleon's Grande Armée and a Russian army led by General Kutuzov fought on 7 September 1812 about 75 miles west of Moscow. Each side considers it a victory, and each side has a point, though it was technically a French victory.

Now there is a new and exciting re-telling of the story of this important battle. Alexander Mikaberidze is one of the most important young Napoleonic scholars in the English-speaking world, and this book is just another example of why that is the case. A native of the Republic of Georgia and holding a PhD from the storied Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at the Florida State University, Mikaberidze brings a writing style that reflects excellent English and fluency in several other languages, most notably Russian. He writes in a way that will be interesting to scholars and amateurs alike. He tells the story not only from the somewhat more traditional French perspective, but also from the Russian perspective. From my experience at two international conferences held at the battlefield, I can assure you that the Russians have a very different perspective on things than the French! :-)

This book uses an incredible breadth of sources. Scholars and general readers both want a book to be based on outstanding research. Well, as my Australian friends would say, 'no worries here, mate.' Mikaberidze's list of sources is amazing, including 71 primary Russian sources and probably twice that many Russian secondary sources. These are not English translations, but are the originals, often from Russian archival sources, and in many cases not previously used by western scholars. The book has an equally impressive set of English, French, German and Polish sources as well.

One can read this book without looking at a single footnote and still learn a great deal about this battle, including the lead up and aftermath. This book gives readers at any level everything they could possibly want--and more. It belongs in anyone's Napoleonic library.

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