The Sharpe series is by Bernard Cornwell. It centers around the exploits of a British Rifleman during the Napoleonic Wars, a man named Richard Sharpe who rose up from the ranks to become an officer. Such was a [i]very[/i] uncommon occurrence in the British army at the time! The books are very accurate historically as far as what was happening when, and the first ten books in the series are very easy reads. More fun (but less historically accurate) are the BBC mini-series based on the books. They stare Sean Bean AND HE DOESN'T DIE IN ANY OF THEM, although admittedly he does get the stuffing kicked and shot out of him several times.

My parents introduced me to the Sharpe's series back in the late 80s, just after filling my head with Horatio Hornblower novels. In my opinion, the books are good for stimulating the imagination while the television movies are... bubblegum for the brain. Fun to chew over, but not very filling in the long run.