Random House Books for Young Readers Napoleon: A Life

I was loaned this book in Abidjan and mentioned it to a relative in France which is why I bought it. It contains many facts about Napoleon that I was not aware of, all the more interesting that some of his life was spent around where we have a home. Napoleon is a bit of anachronism. Amazing that he made it as far as he did without getting fired. And yet, a genius whose influence is still felt in many countries around the world today.

Muy bien escrito, te atrapa en la lectura desde el inicio. Muy interesante para los que saben disfrutar de la historia y de personajes que han marcado historia! Muy recomendable

A thorough and excellent review of an historical figure most of us assume we know all about. Rather than beginning from the 'conclusion' Napoleon was either a tyrant, or a monster comparable to Stalin or Hitler, he is introduced as a human being with is own particular background, gifts, talents and experience, all of which, taken together, help us make sense of who he was. Well written!

My interest in reading this book was primarily concerned with gaining an insight into Napoleon’s military campaigns and with Napoleon as a military leader. However, I soon realized that in addition to being a highly talented battlefield commander - he remained undefeated in 53 of the 60 battles he fought- he was also a capable statesman, reformer, administrator and a patron of the arts. In an age where Feudalism and Serfdom were still prevalent in many European states, Napoleon was an ‘enlightened’ absolutist - creator of the Code Napoléon - who fostered meritocracy, secularism, religious tolerance, and equality before the law.Napoleon’s ambition aptly complemented by his leadership style, ability to inspire men and brilliance on the battlefield made him master of Europe. However, he was not without his vices and could be regarded as the quintessential warmonger, responsible of bringing war and destruction upon Europe for many years. His decline began with his failed invasion of Russia. Also, his enemies learnt from him and applied his methods against him, while he himself began to ignore his own highly successful military maxims. He was finally defeated when much of Europe allied against him and brought an end to his regime in 1815.As the narrative begins with the French revolution in the backdrop, a little prior reading on the French revolution would be helpful in better understanding the initial chapters. Sizable space has been devoted to Napoleon’s campaigns – Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Waterloo - and these have been well described by the author at the ‘Operational level’; a level of warfare, the creation of which is credited to Napoleon. However, in the present century it is difficult to visualize how Divisions, Demi Brigades and Line regiments under Napoleon’s famous Marshals - Murat, Davout, Soult, Ney, Lannes, Masséna, Oudinot etc. - were exactly fighting at the tactical level. Thus, the possession of a companion book on Infantry & Cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic wars would greatly aid in better visualizing the various battlefields. I intend to procure such a companion and re-read this book, also as I recently realized that I was in possession of ‘Dictionary of the Napoleonic War’ by David G. Chandler – currently sitting idle in my library- a book if noticed earlier would have made the reading of this volume more enjoyable and educative.Overall, Andrew Roberts’s cradle to grave biography of Napoleon- with Napoleon’s recently published thirty three thousand surviving letters as a source material - is exhaustive in its contents and provides a good account of Napoleon’s professional and personal life, his work, his achievements and his failings. Whether he was an enlightened despot or a quintessential warmongers is to be decided by the readers. Nevertheless, the book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Napoleon.

it's a well rounded biography, I'm halfway through the book, and i must say, the book is not very comfortable to read, having one volume for 900 pages is a blunder.I'm very interested in the time period of the french revolution, especially the reign of terror, and i guess it goes without saying but a biography of napoleon wouldn't focus too much on the revolution rather than napoleon himself, but if you're interested in napoleon himself this book is a must buy