For some time now –especially after reading the Sharpe series- I’ve been looking for a succinct but thorough history covering the Peninsula War. I then came across Osprey’s “Essential Histories: The Peninsula War” by Gregory Fremont-Barnes in the one dollar or less bin at the local Half-Price books and snapped it up, I am very happy I did so. Mr. Fremont-Barnes reviews the Peninsula campaign and its multifaceted effects with a clear voice and avoids a number of the blasé pitfalls of other historians I’ve read. What I especially enjoyed were the clear maps and battle plans, that this edition also included some delving into art history, with a small treatise on Goya, added a three-dimensional panache I wasn’t expecting. I picked up the two Essential Histories that were available but I will be checking the shelves for the other editions on my next visit. ( )