Conscripts and deserters : the army and French society during the Revolution and Empire /

Forrest's study is based upon exemplary research in French national and regional archives. The result is a detailed and sometimes fascinating account of the struggle between the French state, determined to provide the manpower necessary for total victory against the enemies of the Republic and the Empire, and the mostly rural French population steeped in a tradition of avoiding military service. Draft dodging and deserting were serious problems for the government in Paris. Forrest describes in detail not only the creative ways peasants avoided military service but also the numerous efforts on the part of the government to enforce compliance with military demands. Nicely written and thoroughly documented, this is virtually the only work on this subject in English. Unfortunately, only other historians and graduate students of the period will be able to read the book without difficulty. Numerous passages are in the original French, Revolutionary calendar dates are frequently cited, and the inclusion of only one map poses problems, even for specialists in the field. -G. C. Bond, Auburn University