Book Description

Napoleon's youngest brother, Jerome, has over the centuries been portrayed as a military commander who was completely incompetent and unimportant to his famous sibling. This first biography of Jerome by an American author utilizes many firsthand accounts of Jerome's abilities that have never before been available to readers in English, as well as archival material that has never been published in any language, to challenge this view. Focussing on the lesser-known theaters of operation from 1800 to the Russian campaign in 1812, this study completes the gaps in the military history of the Napoleonic Wars. As Lamar demonstrates, Jerome was not responsible for the failure of Napoleon's early maneuvers during the invasion of Russia, nor did he lose the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Family Affair
Professor Glenn Lamar has provided a fast-pace, scholarly, yet interesting account of the career, experiences, and loves of Napoleon Bonaparte's youngest brother, Jerome. Professor Lamar sets the record straight regarding many controversies that surround the young Bonaparte, such as his role at the infamous battle of Waterloo in June of 1815, which brought his great brother to his knees. Lamar's research is impecable; he has drawn information from all of the major French archives, including the French military archives: the Archives de la guerre, and the French state archives: the Archives Nationales. Lamar, a graduate of the prestigious Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution at Florida State University, has published numerous essays on French history, as well as specific aspects of the career of Jerome Bonaparte. This book, Lamar's inaugural work, not only provides a model for historical scholarship, but is highly entertaining for the scholar, novice, and buff. Readers learn how the young Jerome, laboring in the shadow of his famous brother, strove to make a name for himself in the French navy; how he became stranded in Baltimore and not only won over that city's high society, but also took Elizabeth Patterson as his American wife. Read the sad story of this ill-fated marriage as Napoleon--Jerome's only father figure--had political plans for his young ward and thus destroyed the marriage before Elizabeth ever stepped foot on French soil. Like the rest of his siblings, Jerome received his reward for doing as his brother wished when Napoleon appointed him to be King of the German state of Westphalia. Other chapters include Jerome's controversial role in the disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia in which Napoleon lost almost 500,000 men. One of the real merits of Lamar's book, however, is to illustrate the inner workings of the Bonaparte family. Napoleon awarded his siblings crowns all over Europe; Joseph became King of Spain, Louis was King of Holland, Jerome, the flamboyant playboy King of Westphalia, and Caroline took the throne of Naples. He demanded strict obedience from his siblings, and Lamar's book offers a fresh insight into Napoleon's relations with his family. This book will be highly satisfying to a broad array of readers. ... Read more

Book Description

Robert Asprey completes his definitive, two-volume biography with an intimate, fast-paced look at Napoleon's daring reign and tragic demise with more of the personality and passion that marked the first volume of this cradle to the grave biography.

In The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, Asprey showed us that Napoleon was not the father of chaos, but rather an heir to it. In this companion volume, we see Napoleon struggling to subdue the turmoil. We peer over Napoleon's shoulder as he solidifies his growing empire through a series of marriages, military victories, and shrewd diplomatic manipulations. We watch Napoleon lose control of his empire, plot his return from Elba, rally peasants in his march to Paris, endure defeat at Waterloo and suffer exile and a lonely death on the island of St. Helena. Robert Asprey tells this fascinating, tragic tale in lush narrative detail. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

napoleon book bombs
I agree with Mr. Brooks' negative review on "Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte," by Robert Asprey. It would be comparable to reading a biography of Babe Ruth that was written by studying the box scores. The book has hardly anything about Napoleon's persona, which is promised in the preface, and important events are trivialized and hardly mentioned. After reading this and learning almost nothing, I opened a copy of Emil Ludwig's biograpy of Napoleon, written in 1926, which I had picked up years ago. Ludwig's book is much better.

Flawed
The second volume of Asprey's biography of Napoleon makes the same error of the first one: he focuses entirely on Napoleon's military career while virtually ignoring every other aspect of the man's life. Asprey has billed his book as an attempt to see the whole Napoleon, but in this he fails. Napoleon's personal life, his domestic policies in France, his philosophy, are passed over with scarely a mention.

Furthermore, even in covering Napoleon's military career, Asprey falls short. The section on the crossing of the Danube River during the 1809 Austrian Campaign, one of the most fascinating events in Napoleon's career, is covered in a confusing and slipslod manner, leaving the reader utterly at a loss to what actually happened. The Battle of Dresden, a massive engagement which lasted two days and was Napoleon's last major victory, is mentioned only in passing, without even a full sentence devoted to it. Overall, the writing gives the impression of an author in a hurry to meet a deadline, unable to carefully edit and correct his work.

This work fails in its stated purpose to present a full view of Napoleon's life, its writing style is somewhat sloppy and overall the book fails to impress.

Fair, balanced, thorough, and entertaining life of Napoleon
As an avid history buff I've searched over the years for a really good modern, readable and fair biography of Napoleon. I had big hopes with a number of "high profile" works in the past few years, but I found so many of them were written by English authors who were none too objective and went so far as to compare Napoleon to Hitler (e.g. Alistair Horne's terribly biased "How Far From Austerlitz" and even more biased work by Alan Schom). That comparison is simply ridiculous -- no one talks today of "Hitler-Kulture," he left no legacy but murder and madness. Napoleon on the other hand left numerous infrastrucural improvements, the 'Code Napoleon' judicial system largely still in use not just in France but in dozens of countries worldwide, the list goes on. He didn't simply "grab for power" as many would have you believe, it was the French Revolution and because of his immense popularity throughout France he was -invited- to be Consul in an effort to end the chaos and Terrors. All this and more is nicely characterized in Mr. Asprey's work. As the author makes so clear, much of what is commonly known about Napoleon is taken out of context, "history written by the victors" as it were -- of course the English demonize Napoleon, and he hated them just the same, but in the book you find that it was not Napoleon who started one war after another in Europe but in fact it was usually the English as the "bad guy," bankrolling and instigating 7, yes SEVEN, coalitions against Napoleon, all but the last of which they lost (and consequently lost so much of Europe). I was drawn to this biography of Napoleon because I had previously read the author's Frederick the Great biography, which I counted as the second-best biography I've ever read (after Robert K. Massey's Pulitzer-winning Peter the Great). He did not disappoint -- this is a truly great work, sure there are probably some areas here and there one might like to know more about, one reviewer here called his treatment "superficial," but again, let's be fair, Napoloeon's life is vast, Mr. Asprey gives two very full action-packed volumes for a terrific overview. I agree with another reviewer here, take this one plus the Vincent Cronin and you have a pretty darn good feel for Napoleon and his times.

What Napoleon's Leadership Really Tells Us
For those who read history with an eye for understanding the human traits that so enrage or encourage us all, reading the second book of Asprey's work on Napoleon reminds us what the elusive term "leadership" really is. For those who were taught that leadership is "not a personal or individual thing but rather a relationship and a process whereby people influence one another concerning real changes they intend for the organization or a society" this latest book should serve as a wake-up call. Leadership in Napoleon's time (and today?) is a personal and individual thing. Once again Asprey has meticulously researched a side of Napoleon vis a vis his leadership roles as simultaneous imperial administrator and military commander, with such incredible insight that the reader is forced to rethink all that he or she thought about this incredibly complex man. Most telling, and most prescient of all the chapters, are the end ones describing how the many nation entities of the European continent, along with England, waged incessant battle until Napoleon was doomed to failure. States Asprey, "Why did (Napoleon) persist in his discredited strategy (moving ahead without reinforcement/resupply)? The short answer is because he did not believe that it 'was' discredited. We are dealing here with disparate and complex factors working on a strange amalgam of past and present caught in the fearful coils of the arrogance of ingnorance, trapped in his belief of enemy impotence and cowardice, failing to recognize that his once omnipotent and beautiful army had weakened and withered into halting old age, that the political elixir which he had brewed to save Europe from itself had turned poisonously bitter and impotent...That was the real key to his disjointed actions and spurious decisions and it is at once terribly sad, yet in another sense strangely noble --- a defeated man refusing to accept defeat." And contributing to Napoleon's defeat (and education) was the war he was forced to contend with in Spain against terrorists and guerrillas. Those forces wore Napoleon's army and lessening resources down, weakening them to the point they could not be used in future battles. Napoleon loathed terrorism and guerilla tactics, but in the end, was forced to use them to wear down opposition forces. Asprey makes nearly two hundred years of history as relevant as if it had happened on 9/11/01. It is now up to the greatest military and economic power on Earth to deal with disparate and complex factors and not get caught in the fearful coils of the arrogance of ignorance. Asprey reminds our leadership how and why.

Beyond the Battle
With much Napoleonia, the reader finds himself lost in the powerful scenes and events. There was however, much more to the man than just the battlefield. Asprey performs a difficult task well in bringing to life the man behind the mask and revealing Bonaparte as both a military leader and as the ranking statesman of his age.

Beyond even those facets however lies a personality, larger than life, dedicated to not only his personal prestige and ambition, but to that of his family as well. Questions such as how does one person emerge as the central figure of the era or how does a man put personal accomplishment above the world around him continue to bedevil historians. Asprey disects these and other aspects of the career of Napoleon while enlightening readers about the nature of the man himself.

Clearly this book along with its earlier companion "The Rise..." should take pride of place in any historians Napoleonic collection. What better way to recognize the bi-centenial of the era than with publication of these volumes? ... Read more

Book Description

Robert Asprey charts Napoleon's thrilling, reckless rise to power in this fast-paced first volume of the definitive biography of the fascinating, enigmatic, and still mysterious tragic conqueror.

Ever since 1821, when he died at age fifty-one on the forlorn and windswept island of St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte has been remembered as either demi-god or devil incarnate. In The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first volume of a two-volume cradle-to-grave biography, Robert Asprey instead treats him as a human being. Asprey tells this fascinating, tragic tale in lush narrative detail. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte is an exciting, reckless thrill ride as Asprey charts Napoleon's vertiginous ascent to fame and the height of power. Here is Napoleon as he was-not saint, not sinner, but a man dedicated to and ultimately devoured by his vision of himself, his empire, and his world. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Asprey rises as top historian with The Rise of Napoleon
Few historians could write this most impressive and thoroughly researched work about Napoleon Bonaparte. Written in a clear and insightful style, Asprey has mined sharp insights, shrewd observations, and new understanding of one of history's greatest (and most complex) leaders, from a gold mine thought long paid out. What readers should gain from this important biography, that is also a political-military-economic history, is that there are distinct doctrines for war, peace, and more importantly, intervention to impose the will of peace, law, and government upon nations which threaten another's security. Asprey accomplishes this by using a very well written and interesting story line that chronicles Napoleon's life in a manner used all too infrequently by other writers of historical lives. It is never dull, often revealing, and thoroughly fascinating. The reader finds the secrets of Napoleon's great abilities by understanding his childhood, his youth spent in bookstores, and his lust for reading and writing. Like Asprey's "War in the Shadows," this book will enlighten, infuriate, and hopefully inform a whole new generation of 21st century historians, members of the armed forces, and business leaders to understand that genius come from knowing, doing, and believing in one's innate abilities. Napoleon Bonaparte certainly understood his and Robert Asprey reveals all in this first of two volumes. The next volume, The Fall of Napoleon, will be eagerly anticipated.

Excellent Book, but Not What I Was Looking For!
This is a beautifully written, excellently researched book on Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power, from the perspective of his military leadership. Although a great book, packed with military campaign detail, I was looking for more of a Biography of Napoleon's life. I suppose you can argue that his battles were his life, but I wanted more his life, and less battle detail! I still give this five great stars, it deserves it, but let you know that if you are looking for a standard biography and not a military history, this one isn't it. Well done, nonetheless.

A fine introductory biography on Napoleon
I believed that many of the previous reviewers were probably misled into thinking that this biography was something gear toward a higher level. Upon reading this book, I discovered that this book is perfectly geared toward the casual reader and those just coming into the Napoleonic study. The book proves to be well researched in information, very easy to read and equally easy to understand. I basically regards this book as very good introductory biography on Napoleon up to the end of 1805.

To a veteran Napoleonic bluff, this book may not served your purpose outside of reading a relatively objective book on Napoleon's early career. As other reviewers wrote, the book tries to revealed Napoleon the man instead of the Napoleonic concept that often swirled around his life and accomplishments.

So if you are deep into Napoleonic, you can probably skip this this book and the next. If you are just getting into the subject matter, this book and the next would make an excellent introduction to Napoleon's life and career without overwhelming you with information overload.

Asprey's "Rise" Left Me Flat
First off, let me say that I am not an avid reader of biographies. But when a compelling, beautifully written biography like Edmund Morris's "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" or Antonia Fraser's "Marie Antoniette" comes along, I devour it with relish. I did not find Robert Asprey's "The Rise of Napoleon" to be that kind of book at all. This is a military history, first and foremost. If you want to know (and can keep track of) every move of every division of every army in which Napoleon ever fought, or fought against, this book is for you. I wanted much more personal information, much more about the inner thoughts of the man and what might have made him tick. Nor does Asprey do much towards explaining the world in which Napoleon lived or the political forces that made him what he is. Honestly, I couldn't finish this first volume, and will certainly not go on to read the second.

General Bonaparte's Reasoning Survives This Marine's Siege
As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, United State Marine Corps Captain Robert Asprey unintentionally dons rose-colored glasses when examining the military career of Napoleon. Asprey attempts to portray Napoleon Bonaparte the man versus the anti-Christ or demi-god that other authors may have depicted.

Though Asprey reveals Napoleon to be a deeply flawed man, he glosses over much of the reasons on why the General condoned the Jacobin Massacre, the lootings the Army of Italy carried out, or the motivation behind the campaigns against the Turks, Egyptians and Syrians. The canned explanations regarding the campaigns, which was that Napoleon wanted to strike at the British Empire's purse, is not a sound enough reason to invest such a great amount of troops, money and time in Africa and Asia Minor.

Asprey did not pull any punches when discussing Admiral VerHuell's movements against Admiral Nelson and the Royal Navy. Neither Napoleon nor VerHuell had much confidence in their ability for maritime dominance, and Asprey brings this subject out into the light of day. As a Marine, the author probably sees this lack of confidence inexcusable, and impresses upon the reader the importance of having a well-rounded national force.

Each chapter follows a chronological order covering six-month spans starting from the dawn of Napoleon's military career to the victory at Austerlitz. This is an abrupt break for the reader, and we are left without a conclusion, summary or a teaser of what's to come in Asprey's next volume on Napoleon.

For the casually interested, The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte is a great start to understand this historical giant's life. For the seriously interested, this may not be the best book to find the answers behind this man's way of thinking. ... Read more

Book Description

Finalist, Los Angeles Times book prize biography named one of Library Journal's best books of 1997

... Read more

Reviews (77)

Good Overview, but hollow in parts
I am a major history buff, but this is the first book I have ever read about Napoleon or his era. The book is very well written in an easy-to-read style that keeps the reader intrigued throughout. This biography reveals the truly egotistical, self-glorifying, and cold-hearted nature of Napoleon. According to Schom's account, there was never any hope for peace in Europe with Napoleon in power, unless he conquered the whole lot and ruled them as his subjects. A genuine peace was incompatible with Napoleon's personality, which had to be constantly stimulated with unique and seemingly insurmountable challenges. In a sense, Napoleon's genius was the reason for both his success and ultimate failure. He was bent on world conquest and Europe was simply Phase I of his plan. The book did a pretty good job in revealing how inadvertently devastating Napoleon's Continental System was on the economies of Europe, including that of France, while ironically enough least harming the one country whose economic destruction was the System's raison d'etre, Britain. However, something Mr. Schom curiously neglects to mention was that Britain tried to employ a similar system - by blockading France's Atlantic ports and Toulon on the Mediterranean - against France during the Anglo-Prussian Alliance in the 1750s and 60s.

While this book is definitely anti-Napoleon, the author bases his opinions of Bonaparte on facts. All biographies will be biased to some extent. Even the author's claim that Napoleon had a lot of luck is based on good analysis of the various situations he [Napoleon] found himself in throughout his life. However, no one achieves all that Napoleon achieved, particularly in the time he achieved it, simply based on luck. When you look at Napoleon's work habits and dedication to his career you will just begin to understand how he achieved all that he did. When you focus soley on Napoleon's battles, it would be utter folly to claim that time and again throughout his illustrious career he achieved those brilliant victories simply because he was lucky. One of the things about brilliant generals, such as Napoleon, is that they realize that battles and wars are unpredictable. Their genius lay in their ability to dicern the mistakes of their opponents and to exploit them with the greatest possible benefit to themselves, while causing the greatest possible harm to their opponents. This is something the Mr. Schom sorely misunderstands.

One of the problem's with this book is that it is a somewhat diluted biography because Mr. Schom delves a little too much into the personalities surrounding Napoleon. For example, he dedicates one entire chapter for Napoleon's first foreign minister and two for his sadistic police minister, Fouche. There really is no in-depth analysis of Napoleon's personality by the author, which in my opinion is what a biography should at least attempt to do.

I find it laughable and even insulting when Mr. Schom makes the totally overblown statement that the memory of Genghiz Khan pales in comparison to that of Napoleon in its destructiveness. There is no doubt that Napoleon caused the deaths of millions in his campaigns and Mr. Schom is obviously right to criticize him for this. However, constant and, some may argue, unnecessary warfare was a phenomena that had existed in Europe for centuries prior to Napoleon. While claiming to look at Napoleon as a man set in his times, as Mr. Schom does in the introduction, he ultimately takes Napoleon out of his historical context with such outrageous exaggerations. Furthermore, Napoleon never systematically executed innocent civilians as Ghengiz Khan and his Mongol hordes did time and again from China to Persia and into Russia. Those poor people probably whish they had a Napoleon to defend them against the horrors of the Mongol onslaughts.

Military buffs will be quite disappointed to find that Mr. Schom dedicates very little attention to Napoleon's campaigns relative to other aspects of his life. He describes them rather superficially and hardly attempts to analyze Napoleon's military philosophy. However, Mr. Schom rightly highlights, which to many may seem surprising, Napoleon's almost complete lack of consideration for elementary logistics and a poor military intelligence service, both of which plagued his entire military career. Finally, Napoleon's total disregard for a permanent army medical corps was astounding. However, these last two facets may also have existed in other armies of that period, which would weaken Mr. Schom's personal critisims of Napoleon in these regards.

One thing that is certain - which you will be able to discern from Alan Schom's book - and which also supports Napoleon's reputation as a military genius is that in technology, size and military doctrine, France's army in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was not much better or worse off than those of other continental European powers. In brief, all things were relatively equal between the various European armies - quite unlike the disparity between them on the eve of World War II. Therefore, for one army to truly dominate another it usually required a superior general and one who could improvise on the spot, a good grasp of terrain being indispensable - Austerlitz being a shining example. Mr. Schom even states the Napoleon was a "Master of Improvisation". This is precisely what made Napoleon so successful, even in battles and campaigns in which he was ultimately defeated, usually because of the superior numbers of the opposing army (Leipzig and late Waterloo), poor currier service and intelligence gathering (Eylau, which was a draw, Leipzig, the first allied invasion of France, Waterloo), confusion concerning battle orders (Waterloo) and self-righteous (Murat in Russia), incompetent (Ney at Waterloo) and disobedient, jealous commanders (Bernadotte at Wagram, which was ultimately a victory, Jerome in Russia, Ney at Waterloo, and Murat in Russia). It was also Napoleon's personal intervention into the most dangerous and hotly contested areas of the battlefield that time and again won the day for him, such as at the battles of Wagram, Borodino and during the Saxon Campaign.

If this is the first book on Napoleon you have ever read, you definitly should read other books about him to get a more balanced picture, something which I defitely intend to do.

In the end, Mr. Schom's biography of Napoleon is a good overview for anyone who wants to learn about "The Great Man". However, you will probably come away from this book, like myself, wanting more, since it attempts - as it claims to do - to cover all aspects of Napoleon's life. Unfortunately, this attempt sacrifices depth into the different aspects of this most complex and fascinating personality.

Not bad, but not good
This books is very easy to read but is extremely long. It portrays Napoleon more as a bumbling lucky idiot than a master war general. Goes into detail of the culture and history of the French government before, during and after him.

A Biographer Who Dislikes His Subject
This is a very odd book, an 800 page biography of Napoleon by an author who doesn't think much of Napoleon. According to Alan Schom, the man was a failure as a leader, a failure as a general, a failure as a politician, and a failure as a man. It's not just that Napoleon was ruthless and brutal; a good argument can be made on this front, as I suppose it can of anyone who created an empire for himself. No, according to Schom, Napoleon was incompetent.

How, then, did this obscure Corsican, without title, fortune, or powerful backers, rise to such great heights? Having read this book, it's still a mystery to me. Maybe he just got lucky. Schom maintains that Napoleon's reputation for military genius is groundless. He was a careless commander, according to Schom, who failed to gather proper intelligence, provide proper logistical support, and stubbornly refused to accept advice from his generals. How, then, did Napoleon manage to win again and again, remaining virtually unstoppable on the European battlefield? His subordinate generals did the work, but were not given the credit. But wait, according to Schom, those generals were incompetent too... even cowardly.

This book reads like a polemic, and Schom is so eager to slander Napoleon (there really is no other word for it) that he contradicts himself repeatedly. Napoleon was highly unpopular; the celebrations in the streets of Paris honoring Napoleon's coronation went on for days. And then Schom descends to the petty, repeatedly mentioning such details as Napoleon's inability to hum in tune.

Bonaparte turned a republic into a dictatorship. He invented the modern police state. His incessant wars killed hundreds of thousands. He couldn't *hum*?!

Since Schom hasn't a single good word to say about Napoleon, the book soon becomes tiresome. Style is sadly lacking, too. Schom is fond of phrases like, "once again Napoleon failed to" and the sarcastic "of course". It's as if the author is tired of telling this tale of repeated errors by his not very bright subject. Napoleon, according to Schom, never learned. And when an author is tired of his subject, what is the reader to think?

Napoleon is not Hitler
Why is it that when I was done reading this book, the author left a feeling that Napoleon was some sort of a warmongering scumbag, a 19th century version of Adolf Hitler with no redeeming value? I was bit shocked at the level of bias that the author had against Napoleon. Actually I shouldn't be since I read couple of his earlier books and they were definitely anti-Napoleon in nature. To called this book a "hatchet job" on Napoleon cannot be too far from the truth. The author really seem to distaste Napoleon and I am afraid that make him totally unfit to write his biography. If you hate Napoleon, then this book is for you. If you want a more fair and objective biography, please look else where.

Sloppy Biography, Sloppy Prose
Napoleon is one of those figures in history it is impossible to escape. I have been fascinated with him since I was an adolescent, and I have read a great deal about him in both English and French. The last single volume biography I read was that written by the French historian Andre Castelot. Since that was over twenty five years ago, when this book appeared I was eager to read it to get another overview and--I hoped--a fresh perspective on one of my perennially favorite historical personalities.

The first difficulty I encountered with this book was the poor quality of Mr. Schom's writing. Often I had to reread sentences to determine just what their subjects were, to locate their primary verbs, or to figure out whether a given phrase was a sentence's predicate or just a sentence fragment. Punctuation is erratic. At first I thought there may have been problems with typesetting or even with editing; I was finally forced to conclude that it was just sloppily written. OK, I told myself, we don't all write like Gore Vidal, maybe there is merit lurking under this shoddy cover! Unfortunately the problems didn't end there.

I don't understand why Mr. Schom, or anyone, would spend years studying and then vilifying (at length: over 800 pages!) any single character from history. Even though he protests otherwise, this biography is hardly balanced and certainly not objective. If he hates the guy so much, why waste his time on him? Maybe it's only a preference of my own, but it seems that a biographer without any sympathy for his subject ought to find another subject. To me lack of sympathy probably indicates lack of understanding. It certainly guarantees that the portrait produced never emerges from two dimensions, however "lively" the manner in which familiar stories are repeated (again.)

As I said above, I like Napoleon. I make no apologies. And I will gladly read and consider any well-written, well-balanced, well-argued study of him, even if its conclusion is a negative assessment of the man and his career. Since I found this book poorly written, unbalanced and not really "argued" at all, I am generously giving it a one star rating. But if Mr. Schom were my student in English composition, he wouldn't even get that!

Mr. Castelot's book is now dated and maybe somewhat lightweight, and his writing style may not be to everyone's taste. It is balanced, though, and it is fair. I can also heartily recommend Christopher Herrold's study.

But I'm still waiting for that fresh overview I hoped for when I picked up Schom's book. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excelente
Castelot narra con gran nivel de detalle la vida del Emperador.
Cuando uno repasa su vida entiende un poco mas al ser humano que tomaba las decisiones (mas allá que fueran correctas o no).

El autor plasma en su libro a gran nivel de detalle los lugares y circunstancias en donde vivió el Corso, su juventud en la pobreza, su crecimiento y su excentricidad cuando fue el dueño de Europa y el ocaso de su imperio.

Asimismo, muestra el genio de Napoleón en las batallas, la obstinación en sus decisiones y el día a día del Emperador.

Castelot deja la sensación de no juzgarlo, sólo se encarga de decribir las situaciones, dejando del lado del lector la posibilidad de formar una opinión y entender el porqué de sus acciones.

Este libro, por un lado me daba ganas de no cerrarlo hasta terminarlo y por otro, quería que su relato no finalice.

Es muy recomendable. ... Read more

Book Description

This is Volume 2 of a four volume set

This incredible set begins with Napoleon's birth in Corsica in 1769 and ends with his entombment in the Invalides in Paris in 1840, further set off by an additional section back of Volume IV, Napoleon's Will.(And, no, he didn't leave it all to Josephine. They divorced in 1809. Four months later, he married Archduchess Marie Louise. She didn't get anything either.) That aside, these four illustrated volumes include chronologies, text, letters, and many many insights, both personal and professional, into the life and mind of a titan in world history. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Napoleon the Man
This is undoubtedly the best biography available on Napoleon. It centers around Napoleon as a person and Emperor, and concerns itself less with his military achievements. His rather humble beginnings on Corsica, his education in the military school at Brienne, and his feeling for, and after his father's death from stomach cancer (which would later kill him), his taking over has head of the family is thoroughly and thoughtfully brought into focus. These are the character building years for Napoleon, and though something of a loner in school, as well as a serious student, it demonstrates thoroughly how he had the wherewithall to achievve what he did in life.

Contrary to most biographies, the author concentrates on what Napoleon was like as a man and a person. He talks of his personality, friends, what he did and didn't like in other people, and in his daily personal and professional relationships with those around him. The picture painted is quite different than the traditional 'Corsican Ogre' that has been passed down since the final defeat in 1815.

Traditionally, as well as recently in some substandard biographies, Napoleon has been presented as a murderer, sadist, psychopath, friendless, a military dictator, looter, ruthless conqueror, and as a soldier, though talented, one who cared little for the lives of those soldiers who followed him the length and breadth of Europe. Cronin presents the very human, and humane, soldier and head of state, careful of the money he spent, always balancing his budgets (even in 1814 with the Empire crumbling around him, France had practically no national debt). Napoleon was careful of the lives of his men, ensuring the wounded were always taken care of after the fighting was over.

The Consulate and early Empire are thoroughly covered, giving just due to the myriad and monumental civil achievements Napoleon accomplished during that period. In truth, Napoleon entirely remade France, based on the social gains of the Revolution, firmly, but fairly reestablishing law and order after the tumultuous upheavals of the Revolution.

The book is thoroughly researched and sourced, much of it from primary source material that hadn't been used before. The author is sympathetic to his subject, and maybe it is about time a biobrapher is. Napoleon has been inaccurately vilified by too many authors with either an axe to grind or relying on suspicious source material. In one of the appendices, Cronin evaluates many of the period memoirs for authenticity and reliablility. It is a small gem in the larger crown of the book as a whole.

This volume is highly recommended and it is one of the few in print that looks at Napoleon the man, and destroys the myth of Napoleon the 'Corsican Ogre.'

A great read start to finish
A smaller, simpler, more accurate, and infinately kinder book than Alan Schom's attempt at destroying the myth of Napoleon.I bought this book many years ago at the Waterloo battlefield, and it has remained with me since. Not a large book as biographies go, but full of wonderful observations and insights. Well worth buying.

Full detail of the man who chased his dream
This book tells very specific detail of Napoleon's life. Story begins from childhood in Corsica then his constant victories on wars and tragic ending in St.helena island. Until I read this book , I didn't even know Napoleon's mother's tongue was Italian, not French. It really surprised me that an ordinary soldier became an emperor of France and threatning entire Europe. What was his secret to achieve his dream. Read this book, and you will get an answer. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Hubris
Fortunately for Napoleonic scholars J.M.Thompson's masterful biography has reappeared in a new, affordable paperback edition. Less hagiographic than Cronin, less expensive than Chandler, and more comprehensive than Markham or Ellis, this volume, though first published in 1952, has aged well and remains a sound investment. Its success, no doubt, is owed in part to the author's reliance on primary sources and his decision to base the foundation of the work on Bonaparte's own personal correspondence. Thompson's facile writing ability plays no small part as well.

While chronicling the rise and fall of Napoleon, the author displays a keen apprehension of the repercussions of decisions and actions while finding time to apprise the reader of the roles of those on the sidelines; a Saliceti, a Fouche, a Madame de Stael. The enormous sweep of time is succinctly capsuled by the author and one comes away with a far better understanding of the era thanks to Thompson's critical analysis while being entertained by a master storyteller.

Neither incomparable saint nor inconceivable devil, Napoleon comes through as a tragically flawed genius, unable to rise to true greatness by his own egoism and selfishness. ... Read more

Book Description

Napoleon Bonaparte never set foot on English soil, although he was held aboard a warship off the coast of Devon after his surrender to the Royal Navy in 1815. Nor did he ever admit to being a prisoner. With its focus on the last six years of Napoleon's life--from his arrival at Devon, where he became the object of massive English public interest, through his exile on St. Helena, where he died in 1821--this close study of Napoleon in captivity attempts to reconstruct an authentic portrait of the fallen emperor by examining contemporary documents and public records of opinion. As this judicious volume by journalist and historian Frank Giles shows, Napoleon worked hard at St. Helena to obfuscate the history of his tyranny in France with a legend that would elevate him as the architect of a federation of free European peoples--had it not been for the fears of reactionary monarchs and the envy of England. Many English citizens, most of them discontent Whigs, stood among Napoleon's collaborators in this legend, just as many of them joined in the condemnation of the British governor at St. Helena, Sir Hudson Lowe, as a petty, tyrannical bureaucrat and booby. Turning a scrupulous eye to the Hudson Lowe papers, Giles attempts to redeem Napoleon's jailer and guardian, reviled as he has been by critics on both sides of the Channel, from the judgment of history. What emerges is a more balanced view of both Lowe and Napoleon, condemned to each other on an island in the Atlantic for six years. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A decent read on Napoleon's final banishment
This is quite a decent read on the treatment Napoleon received at the hands of his "...most consistent and generous foe, the British". A balanced account is what Mr Giles has stroved for and the coverage is generally admirable. Napoleon's jailer comes across as a more humane person than history has given him credit for.
I din't care much for the last part of the book which focussed on various poems written by great men of letters to explain the Napoleonic myth as I felt that such coverage was either too narrow or irrelevant to the overall British perception of Napoleon.

Fascinating research, wanting for a story
Mr. Giles gives us a great work, obviously carefully footnoted with very meticulous references, full of very interesting tidbits about British perceptions of Napoleon's stay on St. Helena.I left it, however, wishing for more than the historical details, wanting for more color about the participants, their own stories and experiences.The character of Sir Hudson Lowe does not come through clearly, despite the book's stated goal of demonstrating his relative innocence in the supposedly cruel treatment of Napoleon.There are many details, but Mr. Giles leaves it to us, based on the facts presented, to muster an image of the gaoler.Perhaps that is his intention---perhaps that is good historical documentation.That said, his description of the Lord and Lady Hollands feelings, again based on thorough first hand information, is excellent and insightful, perhaps especially due to their ample and descriptive writings.For Napoleon buffs, this one is--if not a nail-biter---a good essay on one aspect of his life. ... Read more

Download Description

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on August 15, 1769 in Ajaccio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Through his military exploits and his ruthless efficiency, Napoleon rose from obscurity to become Napoleon I, Empereur des Francais (Emperor of the French). He is both a historical figure and a legend-and it is sometimes difficult to separate the two. The events of his life fired the imaginations of great writers, film makers, and playwrights whose works have done much to create the Napoleonic legend. Please Note:This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher.The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year.Both versions are text searchable. ... Read more

Book Description

1894. Other volumes in this set include ISBN number(s): 0766139425, 0766139433, 0766139441. Volume 4 of 4. An investigation into the truth behind the life and man.The author claims to be an independent investigator in some of the most important portions of the field he covers.His researches have extended over many years and he was able to use original materials never before viewed by the public.He has also taken material from published monographs and technical journals, sifted the fact from the fiction, and presents the same in these works. Beautifully illustrated. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Corsican Ogre!
I really liked this book. No, it isn't unbiased I admit. Indeed, the author really seems to have taken against Napoleon. There are much better sources for Napoleon's military career, and a variety of better books on his life overall. Still, its fun once in a while to read an author who digs up the dirt, and doesn't pull any punches!

So I gave it five stars because I thought it was fun. Would I recommend it? As a fun read, yes. As an antidote to the servile adoration expressed by some authors, yes. But not for a reader not already well-read on the subject, since it is necessary to apply more than a grain of salt to the book. It is especially necessary to exercise caution about Corelli Barnett's estimation of Napoleon's motivations, which can never really be known.

Yours, James D. Gray

One eyed
Upon reading this book you would think the author had a personal grievance with Bonaparte himself! At every available opportunity Barnett slams Napolean who he makes out was slap dash in the battlefield and relied on the brilliance of some of his generals. Also the author tries to demonstrate that Napolean had little directly to do with the reforms found in France today. Maybe it was just in style that the book is written, but I just found it to be too one eyed to be taken too seriously.

Too biased
Barnett's hatred for Bonaparte undermines the whole book. There is a good case to be made for Napoleon as the forerunner of Stalin, Ceausescu, even Hitler; and another that he was lucky in many key battles and that as a continental strategist he was a bad joke (his planned invasions of England, Spain & Russia were supremely crass and blinkered). Barnett makes these cases very well, but he also glosses over some of Bonaparte's achievements in administrative reform and his occasional feats of battlefield brilliance. His tone is too sneering, so that even though he has an excellent grasp of both the basics and the detail, he allows his personal prejudices to cloud his judgement. The latter chapters are well written and compelling; the book builds up a good momentum as Bonaparte descends at pace into his self-authored and richly deserved fate, but I would have liked a more objective tone with regard to the early years and the reform programmes.

Not quite an unbiased view
This book is not for you if you are looking for a basic reference material on Napoleone, as I was. After reading Tolstoy's "War and Peace" and Hugo's "Les Miserables", I was looking for something about Napoleone to put the whole thing in perspective. This book primarily focuses on the personality and psyche of Bonaparte. Barnett, the author seems to have assumed that the reader is already familiar with the events in Napoleone's life. Napoleone's celebrated military victories eg. at Jena, Austerlitz etc., Barnett attributes to the failings of his opposing commanders who fell to his trap and for all his military reverses he blames Napoleone's personal failings as a general and a commander.Not quite an unbiased view. ... Read more