"Fascinating and important."--Journal of Modern History "Poses a series of challenges to much traditional thinking about the impact of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars on French society."--French History "A much richer view of the relationship between central government and local population at a time when only a minority of Frenchmen consciously identified themselves as such rather than as members of local societies....An excellent example of the social dimension of political and military policies."--American Historical Review "A sophisticated product of the Richard Cobb school of history, exploiting an impressive array of original material collected in sixteen archives. Forrest writes in an imaginative and evocative style without slipping into hyperbole."--International History Review "Forrest's work is an informative and meticulously-documented study. It provides manyu new insights into the conditions of everyday life in the France of this era."--French Review "An important study of a major military institution."--Journal of Military History "A wealth of vivid particular incident which admirably conveys the strength of popular feeling against conscription, the misery which was so often the lot of conscripts and deserters alike, the brutality with which conscription was enforced and resistance to it suppressed....Immensely readable."--History "A detailed and sometimes fascinating account....Nicely written and thoroughly documented, this is virtually the only work on this subject in English."--CHOICE