The author reconstructs people, place and events from primary sources, and then breathes life into them with a reporter-like writing style... Dragon Rampant is not another dry regimental history, but comes off like the author is seizing an opportunity to tell engaging stories about people and their accomplishments. Battles like Albuera are told with authority, and with an insight into military tactics of the time period that other authors are often painfully lacking.

Amazon.com

A lively account which deservedly holds the attention of the reader.

British Historical Association.

Wellington's men were not brutes, but rather decent human beings who were inspired to fight by positive factors as much as negative ones, not the least of these positive factors being the regimental pride which is so evident a theme in Grave's fine study.

JOURNAL OF MILITARY HISTORY, October 2010

This research is based firmly on diaries and period documents but they improve rather than distract from the strong narrative line. The easy-to-read and entertaining style is hard to put down makes this an accessible introduction to this fine regiment but the Peninsular War for the re-enactor and amateur historian alike.

The Napoleon Series website

No doubt, the world is filled with books on the battles of the Napoleonic Wars, but Donald Graves' latest really stands out. Focusing on the history of the famous 23rd Regiment of foot, Royal Welch Fusiliers, Graves introduces you to the officers and men of the unit and invites you to accompany them aboard ship, in garrison, through unimaginable hardship and as they attain astonishing victories over a 22 year period. Based firmly on diaries and period documents, it is written in such an easy-to-read and entertaining style that one has a hard time putting the book down. Thus, it is a must have for not only the armchair warrior, but the reenactor and historian alike.

Erik Goldstein, Curator of Mechanical Arts & Numismatics, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Graves specializes in Napoleonic period warfare, and this study of the 23rd Foot rose from his biography of Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Pearson of that regiment, Fix Bayonets! He draws on the regiment's rich archive of correspondence, memoirs, and other documentation to let the men tell their story by and large, but also uses sources a little further afield in order to place the account within the larger political and social background of the period.

SciTech Book News

A lively account which deservedly holds the attention of the reader.

The Historical Association

THE Royal Welch Fusiliers, the 23rd Regiment of Foot, have a long and splendid history dating back to 1689. Generations of the same family have worn the cap badge with pride. This book brings together 22 years of the regiment’s history – the story of the titanic struggle with Napoleonic France, which ended with the battle of Waterloo in 1815. War is described largely in the words of the men fighting the battles.
Donald Graves has an entertaining and engaging style of writing and has penned a diligently researched title that will be of interest to the military historian and those who served in the regiment.

Soldier Magazine

The well written text is supported by a good use of quotes from letters and books written by members of the regiment, along with some useful maps and illustrations and a decent section of higher quality plates.... This is a high quality piece of work, and of great value as a regimental history, for students of the British army and for anyone interested in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

History of War Website