Born in Edmonds, Washington, author James Mace is currently a resident of Meridian, Idaho. He enlisted in the United States Air Force out of high school; three years later transferring over to the U.S. Army. After a career as a Soldier that included deploying to Iraq, in 2011 he left his full-time position with the Army National Guard to devote himself to writing.
His well-received series, "Soldier of Rome - The Artorian Chronicles," is a perennial best-seller in ancient history on Amazon. In his latest endeavors, he also branched into writing about the Napoleonic Wars. After he finishes the last of The Artorian Chronicles in 2013, he looks to expand into a series about the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.
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“Up Guards and at them!”
In February, 1815, after nine months in exile, Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed Emperor of the French, escaped from the Isle of Elba. Seizing the initiative while the European powers bicker amongst themselves at the Congress of Vienna, Napoleon advances towards Belgium with an enormous army, where the combined forces of Prussia and England are cantoned. The French Emperor knows that if he can achieve a decisive capture in Brussels, it will shatter the already fragile European alliance.
Leading the allies is Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington; the venerable British field marshal who defeated Napoleon’s best generals in Spain, yet who the emperor had never personally met in battle. Napoleon knows that if he can draw away Wellington’s chief Prussian ally, Gebhard von Blucher, and destroy his army first, he can unleash his entire might against the British. A victory over the unbeaten Wellington will cripple the alliance even further, as it will then deprive them of both English soldiers and financing.
In Belgium, Captain James Henry Webster has finally returned to a line regiment after being terribly wounded at the Siege of Badajoz three years prior. He is given command of a line company within the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, the elite of the British Infantry.
A series of indecisive clashes will lead to a collision between the two greatest military minds of the age and the bloodiest single day of the entire century, as Wellington and Napoleon lead their armies to either immortality or oblivion. For Captain Webster, he fights for both his nation and to protect his young daughter in Brussels. Along with the rest of the Guards Division, he finds himself at the apex of the battle, where the fate of the entire world will be decided; at a place called Waterloo.
B & N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/i-stood-with-wellington-james-mace/1113868410?ean=2940015792973&itm=1&usri=i+stood+with+wellington
James does an excellent job at bringing the frontlines to the deck of the ships to the island to life. The reader is right there laying next to Napoleon as he is tucked under the jacket on the deck as he tries to escape his little island. Or as the Irishmen are constantly stuck dealing with those that are idiotic racists. Or when Webester saves Wellington's life. He manages to bring each of these elements and SO much more to life.
It is a great book with characters that you'll fall in love with. I loved to see the relationships between them develop and shift as the book went on. Each one was unique and special, and James managed to keep this true throughout the entire book.
I've read some historical pieces and seen a few shows on Napoleon and his little island and his death, so it was great to see it all expanded and turned more realistic with the use of fiction. Fiction based on fact. It is a good read.
I recommend this book for those that enjoy a good historical fiction piece. It is well developed and definitely is able to put you into the world it's written about.