All too often, historians have let ideologies or identities speak for actors' motivations and explain their actions. Brown reminds us that personal interests were at stake as well. Piecing together this level of detail is an impressive effort and Brown should be congratulated for his reconstruction. - The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Latin American History
Matthew Brown once again provides a deftly-handled collective biography of the many people, nationalities and power struggles that collided in a battlefield situation during Colombia's independence. Carefully-researched, engagingly-written, fast-paced and historiographically-complex, the book is destined to become the standard work on the Battle of El Santuario. A truly impressive account that manages never to lose sight of the real people underneath the uniforms. - Karen Racine, associate professor of History, University of Guelph
A wonderful tale of espionage and strange bedfellows. - Rebecca Earle, professor of History, University of Warwick