About

It was after six years in the US Marine Corps Reserve and 14 years working as an engineer that Domingo Leonis returned to his first intellectual enthusiasm: history. This was originally kindled at the age of 12 when he encountered a documentary on the Battle of Thermopylae, and it became a full-fledged pursuit after he read Andrew Roberts’ landmark book Napoleon: A Life while deployed overseas with the Marine Corps.

​

He subsequently devoted himself to a study of the Napoleonic era, focusing especially on firsthand memoirs such as, “The Memoirs of Sergeant Bourgogne” and essentially any work from the brilliant Jonas De Neef. His research was influenced by his connection with the Basque country of southwest Europe, which, as a first-generation Basque American, he has visited often and where much of his family still lives. With the encouragement of his wife, and drawing on his own experience as an infantryman, Domingo transformed his fascination with details of the past into a work of history, as accurate and true to life as possible. However, as the ending of this book demonstrates, he has also wished the reader to gain an appreciation for just how fragile history can be, and how individual actions, ever so slight, can alter its course.

​

Following the publication of The Debt of Free Men, his first book, Domingo Leonis is working on a second volume describing the drama and intimacies of Napoleonic warfare. He currently lives in Billings, Montana, USA with his wife and kids.