The Battle for Europe, 1807 to 1814

Russia Against Napoleon

'A compulsive page-turner ... a triumph of brilliant storytelling ... an instant classic that is an awesome, remarkable and exuberant achievement' Simon Sebag Montefiore 
 
Winner of the Wolfson History Prize and shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize 
 
In the summer of 1812 Napoleon, the master of Europe, marched into Russia with the largest army ever assembled, confident that he would sweep everything before him. Yet less than two years later his empire lay in ruins, and Russia had triumphed. This is the first history to explore in depth Russia's crucial role in the Napoleonic Wars, re-creating the epic battle between two empires as never before. 
 
Dominic Lieven writes with great panache and insight to describe from the Russians' viewpoint how they went from retreat, defeat and the burning of Moscow to becoming the new liberators of Europe; the consequences of which could not have been more important. 
 
Ultimately this book shows, memorably and brilliantly, Russia embarking on its strange, central role in Europe's existence, as both threat and protector - a role that continues, in all its complexity, into our own lifetimes.

A compulsive page-turner ... a triumph of brilliant storytelling ... an instant classic that is an awesome, remarkable and exuberant achievement

Radically alters our assumptions about how Napoleon was beaten

(He creates) an historic canvas that is both overwhelming and meticulous ... he inevitably touches the nerve points of modern power politics.

A compulsive read. This master storyteller and scholar has written an instant classic that is awesome, remarkable and exuberant.

An essential reference ... the Princess would have approved.

(An) erudite, monumental piece of historial research ... it's a great tale with a clear argument, baked by an impressive array of sources and detail.

Dominic Lieven is a Senior Research Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His book Russia Against Napoleon (Penguin) won the Wolfson Prize for History and the Prize of the Fondation Napoleon for the best foreign work on the Napoleonic era.

In the summer of 1812 Napoleon, the master of Europe, marched into Russia with the largest army ever assembled, confident that he would sweep everything before him. Yet less than two years later his empire lay in ruins, and Russia had triumphed. This is the first history to explore in depth Russia's crucial role in the Napoleonic Wars, re-creating the epic battle between two empires as never before. 
 
Dominic Lieven writes with great panache and insight to describe from the Russians' viewpoint how they went from retreat, defeat and the burning of Moscow to becoming the new liberators of Europe; the consequences of which could not have been more important. 
 
Ultimately this book shows, memorably and brilliantly, Russia embarking on its strange, central role in Europe's existence, as both threat and protector - a role that continues, in all its complexity, into our own lifetimes.

Empire, War and the End of Tsarist Russia

Towards the Flame

TLS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2016 
 
FINANCIAL TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015 
 
WINNER OF THE PUSHKIN HOUSE RUSSIAN BOOK PRIZE 2016 
 
'Magisterial... reveals how much is at stake for world order in Ukraine and Syria.' Rachel Polonsky 
 
'As much as anything, World War I turned on the fate of Ukraine' 
 
The decision to go to war in 1914 had catastrophic consequences for Russia. The result was revolution, civil war and famine in 1917-20, followed by decades of communist rule. Dominic Lieven's powerful and original book, based on exhaustive and unprecedented study in Russian and many other foreign archives, explains why this suicidal decision was made and explores the world of the men who made it, thereby consigning their entire class to death or exile and making their country the victim of a uniquely terrible political experiment under Lenin and Stalin. 
 
Dominic Lieven is a Senior Research Fellow of Trinity College,Cambridge University, and a Fellow of the British Academy. His book Russia Against Napoleon (Penguin) won the Wolfson Prize for History and the Prize of the Fondation Napoleon for the best foreign work on the Napoleonic era.

A book of immense scholarship and engaging readability. Through an eastern window rarely opened to Western gaze, it illuminates the end of Europe's old order and the explosive start of the twentieth century. A century later, we are still struggling with this era's epic legacies.

David Reynolds, author of The Long Shadow: The Great War and the Twentieth Century

Not just one of the greatest historians on Russia, but also a great writer

With its important new evidence about Russia's slide towards war, this is a much-needed account of a how a few clever but foolish men ruined their country and brought disaster on themselves

Aristocratic values, imperial mindsets and the emergence of modern nationalisms are the big themes of this illuminating history of late tsarist Russia by Lieven... he writes with all the clarity, conviction and fluent command of sources that readers have come to expect of him

This magnificent book, lively in perceptions and bristling with empirical novelty, traces the origins of the Russian-German rivalry. It is a pleasure to read

[Lieven's] intimate familiarity with the Russia he describes and his extensive study of the letters, diaries and books of the chief actors in Russia's descent "towards the flames" - many not hitherto accessible to historians - are what render this book so authoritative and readable

Lieven presents Russia's road to war and revolution as a classical tragedy - a fate driven by the character of both the country and its rulers... [he] recovers a world that has been lost

Lieven has a double gift: first, for harvesting details to convey the essence of an era and, second, for finding new, startling, and clarifying elements in familiar stories. This is history with a heartbeat, and it could not be more engrossing

Illuminating history of late tsarist Russia. Lieven writes with all the clarity, conviction and fluent command of sources that readers have come to expect of him

'As much as anything, World War I turned on the fate of Ukraine' 
 
The decision to go to war in 1914 had catastrophic consequences for Russia. The result was revolution, civil war and famine in 1917-20, followed by decades of communist rule. Dominic Lieven's powerful and original new book, based on exhaustive and unprecedented study in Russian and many other foreign archives, explains why this suicidal decision was made and explores the world of the men who made it, thereby consigning their entire class to death or exile and making their country the victim of a uniquely terrible political experiment under Lenin and Stalin.

Dominic Lieven

Unique, captivating and dazzling global history ... Despite its astonishing range and the complexity of its subject, In the Shadow of the Gods is full of enticing human detail ... a sparkling history infused with entertaining reflections.

An impressive feat of synthesis, written with the author's customary flair and eye for detail ... with its engaging style, its undogmatic tone and the wealth of coverage, it will undoubtedly attract many readers. ... stimulating, informative and enjoyable.

Dynamic, original and convincing ... exceptionally stimulating.

Fascinating ... I read the book in a state of baffled wonder that such an extraordinary system could have dominated huge tracts of the world for most of recorded history ... Lieven's book was obviously finished before the Russian invasion, but if you want to know what it is all about, In the Shadow of the Gods is not a bad place to start.

A new work by Dominic Lieven is always a treat... It's not only superb and masterly in its analysis but strikingly relevant on power and empire now.

An erudite, globe-spanning study ... Lieven's sharp wit and vast knowledge impress. This eloquent and entertaining chronicle casts world history in a new light.

A really interesting way into questions about Russia, Ukraine and China ... Lieven's book gives a fantastic historical perspective on why emperors have been so important in the context of broader Eurasia.

Dominic Lieven brings to his latest work a striking, informed empathy for the dilemmas of mighty sovereigns ... Mr Lieven offers especially vivid portraits of some great empresses ... The era of crowned despots who personify the divine may well be over, but the age of self-conscious imperial calculus is not.

Sweeping ... A consistently engaging comparison-contrast look at the mechanics of empire.

The Emperor in World History

For millennia much of the world was ruled by emperors: a handful of individuals claimed no limit to the lands they could rule over and no limit to their authority, and indeed often claimed a superhuman or divine authority. In practice they ran the gamut from being some of the most remarkable men who ever lived, to being some of the worst and least remarkable. 
 
Dominic Lieven's marvellous new book, In the Shadow of the Gods, is the first to grapple seriously with this extraordinary phenomenon. Lieven compares the great emperors of antiquity, the caliphs and the warrior-emperors of the steppe before he turns to the Habsburg, Russian, Ottoman, Mughal and Chinese emperors, packing the book with extraordinary stories, astute observations and a sense of both delight and horror at these individuals' antics. The entire breadth of extreme human behaviour is here - from warlords to patrons of the arts, from political genius to feeble incapacity and pathological violence. 
 
As one of the great experts both on empires and on Russian history, Lieven is brilliantly qualified to write a book that brings to life a system of rule that dominated most of human history, as well as some of history's grandest and most dismaying figures.

Dominic Lieven

Praise for In the Shadow of the Gods

Unique, captivating and dazzling global history ... Despite its astonishing range and the complexity of its subject, In the Shadow of the Gods is full of enticing human detail ... a sparkling hi ...

An impressive feat of synthesis, written with the author's customary flair and eye for detail ... with its engaging style, its undogmatic tone and the wealth of coverage, it will undoubtedly attract many read ...

Dynamic, original and convincing ... exceptionally stimulating.

Unique, captivating and dazzling global history ... Despite its astonishing range and the complexity of its subject, In the Shadow of the Gods is full of enticing human detail ... a sparkling hi ...

An impressive feat of synthesis, written with the author's customary flair and eye for detail ... with its engaging style, its undogmatic tone and the wealth of coverage, it will undoubtedly attract many read ...

Dynamic, original and convincing ... exceptionally stimulating.

Unique, captivating and dazzling global history ... Despite its astonishing range and the complexity of its subject, In the Shadow of the Gods is full of enticing human detail ... a sparkling hi ...

An impressive feat of synthesis, written with the author's customary flair and eye for detail ... with its engaging style, its undogmatic tone and the wealth of coverage, it will undoubtedly attract many read ...

Dynamic, original and convincing ... exceptionally stimulating.

Books by Dominic Lieven

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