PreviewNapoleon
The man and the campaign on one dossier sheet, with his team and the plan for 18 June.
Past & Power
Decided then. Felt now.
Most history tells you what happened. We tell you how sure we are.
Out 25 November 2026
Waterloo 1815
The Last Day
One Sunday in Belgium ended twenty-three years of war. This dossier follows the campaign from Napoleon's return to the final collapse of the Guard, hour by hour, through the eyes of the men who were there.
It is built like a briefing file: maps you can actually read, orders of battle, the numbers and where they come from, and a clear line between what the record shows and what historians still argue about.
157pages
18original maps and figures
77numbered sources
5in-depth studies
Every fact can be checked. Claims carry a source number in square brackets, from S1 to S77, and the full list is at the back of the book.
Get it on Gumroad
Instant PDF download. The Collector's Edition adds seven bonus files.
Myth or record?
Some of the best-known stories about Waterloo were never written down by anyone who was there. Six famous claims. Can you tell which ones survive the evidence?
Claim 1 of 6
Start free
Three maps and the full myth table from the dossier, free on Gumroad.
The Collector's Edition
The full dossier plus seven companion files: portraits of the two commanders, the armies unit by unit, and guides for when you go and see the places for yourself.
Swipe to see all seven.
Preview
PreviewWellington
The man and the army: his day on 18 June, his commanders and the allied force he held the ridge with.
PreviewOrder of battle sheets
Who fought, under whom and in what strength, starting with Napoleon's Army of the North.
PreviewWaterloo, 1814–2015
The timeline poster: the road to Waterloo, the day hour by hour, and two centuries after.
Preview soonMap pack
Fourteen pages of maps, ready to print or keep open beside the book.
PreviewWaterloo battlefield today
A visitor's guide to the sites, from the Lion Mound to Hougoumont, with a map of the field.
PreviewWaterloo in London
What is still there: a map and route through the city's monuments to the battle.
Get the Collector's Edition
Previews show part of the first page only. The full files come with your purchase.
Give history this Christmas
Napoleon wanted Belgium. He didn't get it. Give your favourite history lover the whole story of why, from the person who has read every book on Napoleon to the grandchild who hasn't started yet.
- Choose the edition. The gift finder matches the right one to their age.
- Send it as a gift. At the Gumroad checkout, switch on "Give as a gift" and enter their email address.
- Wrap something real. Print our free gift card, write their name on it and put it under the tree.
Sources checked.Twice.
The Dossier Series
A gift of history
For
From
For parents and grandparents
History they will actually want to read, and that you can read with them.
- Made to share. Past & Power began when a parent and daughter visited Waterloo together. The dossiers are written to be read together.
- The right edition for every age. The same true story, told for 10-year-olds, for teenagers and for adults.
- Thinking, not just facts. Young readers learn to ask how we know, and to spot a good story that isn't true.
- Print it out. Every edition is a printable PDF, so it can be read away from a screen.
Gift finderWho is it for?
Pick one, and we'll suggest the edition that fits.
The films
Short films from the dossiers. New ones arrive as each story is finished.
Swipe for more films.
The Dossier Series
Myth or record? What a Past & Power dossier is, in under a minute.
Coming soon
Follow @pastandpowerhq to see it firstIn production
The next film is being made.
Coming soon
Follow @pastandpowerhq to see it firstIn production
The next film is being made.
Waterloo in the classroom
Two school editions built from the same research as the full dossier, rewritten for younger readers. Pupils learn what happened at Waterloo, and something more useful: how historians know, and how sure they can be.
Try it first: our free Myth or Record? lesson is a ready-to-teach 45-minute plan with a pupil sheet, for ages 10 to 16.
Ages 10–13
Junior Edition
A History Detective's Guide
Every reader becomes a detective. Four badges show how sure we are about each fact: Sure, Probably, People argue and A story. Each page ends with a "Try this!" task, there is a painting to investigate and a myth-or-fact quiz, and the answers wait at the back.
Ages 13–16
Student Edition
The four days that ended Napoleon's return
Eighteen short chapters, from Hougoumont to the Guard's last attack. Statements are graded as documented, estimate, interpretation or tradition, eyewitness voices are quoted, and each chapter closes with questions to check understanding. Source numbers link back to the full dossier, so students can follow a fact to its origin.
Two red stripes · Junior guide
Corporal Dossier
Young, keen and sure he has heard every story about Napoleon. He is about to find out which ones are true, together with your 10 to 13-year-olds.
One gold stripe · Senior guide
Sergeant Source
A veteran of every argument about Waterloo. He believes nothing without a source, and he always asks for one. Teenagers soon start asking it too.
Source skills, not just storiesEvery edition teaches the difference between a record, an estimate and a legend.
Ready for the lessonTasks, questions and answers included. Print and teach.
Three classroom packsLesson packs for teachers to build a unit around the editions.
How every dossier is built
History is full of confident retellings. Ours show their working, so you always know how sure we are.
- Every source weighedEach fact carries a numbered source, listed in full at the back. A record from the day counts for more than a story told later.
- Maps drawn for the bookOriginal maps and figures on real geography, each with scale, time and sources.
- Honest numbersEstimates are marked as estimates, and where historians disagree, we show both figures.
Four kinds of statementHow to read a Past & Power dossier
DocumentedSupported by a record from the time or a published eyewitness.
InferredA careful reconstruction where the records leave a gap, with the sources it rests on.
InterpretationOur own analysis, clearly labelled as ours.
DisputedWhere sources disagree. We present both sides and let you weigh them.
The Napoleonic Wars
Three battles across ten years: the rise, the turn and the fall of an empire.
1805
Austerlitz
The Sun of Austerlitz
Fog on the Pratzen Heights, and the victory that broke the Third Coalition.
In production1813
Leipzig
The Battle of the Nations
Half a million men and the largest battle in Europe before the First World War.
Planned1815
Waterloo
The Last Day
The final campaign, hour by hour, from the crossing of the Sambre to the collapse of the Guard.
Out 25 NovemberThe Rise and Fall of Napoleon
All three dossiers together as one collection, once the set is complete. Follow Past & Power on Gumroad and you'll hear first when Austerlitz and the bundle are released.
From 480 BC to 1944
Fifteen dossiers are planned, from the ancient world to the Second World War.
- Salamis
- Lützen
- Gettysburg
- Verdun
- Stalingrad
- D-Day
About Past & Power
Past & Power is an independent history publisher. It began in autumn 2026, when a parent and daughter visited the Waterloo battlefield museum and wondered which of the famous stories were actually true. The Dossier Series is the answer: illustrated history dossiers on the battles and wars that shaped the modern world, built like briefing files. Every claim carries a numbered source, every map is drawn for the book, and every page tells you how sure we are. The first dossier, Waterloo 1815: The Last Day, is out on 25 November 2026, with school editions for ages 10 to 16.
Historian, podcaster or history creator? Partner with us: review copies, collaborations and 30% affiliate commission.