 He describes medicine from a patient's point of view, punishment from a friend of the victim's view, and military life from the bottom up, giving insight to the daily life of a soldier in the Napoleonic Wars, as well as a valuable primary source to some of the British campaigns of the period.During Harris’ life the book was neither popular nor well-received critically, fading into obscurity for many years before being rediscovered in the early years of the twentieth century.The book has since been republished many times, with a number of commentaries, some rather poorly researched, even reporting Harris’ first name as John.