Napoleon The Great

This is a monumental effort by a recognized historian and the result is an excellent biography of Napoleon. This is a sympathetic biography of the French Emperor and it ranks right up there with the 1971 biography of Napoleon by Vincent Cronin and the new biography of Napoleon by Michael Broers.The author gives Napoleon what the Emperor deserves-a fair and impartial look and gives Napoleon his due both militarily and as a civilian head of state. The author definitely demonstrates that Napoleon was neither tyrant nor military dictator (agreeing in fact with the eminent French historian Thierry Lentz) and also demonstrates that Napoleon was both a lawgiver and a reformer not only for France, but for those allies and satellites that either belonged to or were allied to the French Empire.What is also quite evident when reading the book that Napoleon as a head of state was vastly superior to his fellow monarchs. No other head of state in Europe or Russia guaranteed to his citizens freedom of religion, equality before the law, basic civil rights, and a law code, the justly famous Code Civile, also known as the Code Napoleon. Further, none of Napoleon's fellow monarchs even attempted the social and governmental reforms achieved by Napoleon, many of them in his first four years as French head of state.And even though Napoleon's fantastic career ended in defeat and exile, he was still recognized as the best soldier of his age, and was recognized as such by Wellington.This excellent volume is a must for anyone interested in the period and is enthusiastically recommended. It is a great read and excellent history and the author is to be greatly commended for both the effort and the product. This volume is definitely a keeper.

This is a brilliant book - so well researched and so well written. My motivation to read about Napoleon was a visit to St Helena and as I know next to nothing about Napoleon I wanted to have an appreciating for his life, motivations and accomplishments before visiting the island. I am so pleased I chose this book - very grateful. It answered so well the key question I was wondering about Napoleon - how does a kid from Corsica become emporer of France?! One finishes the book being very impressed by Napoleon - as a broad thinker, highly intelligent, military genuis and accomplished law-maker. I was sorry when I finished the book! Congratulaitons to Mr Roberts for such an phenomal work.

It is a fascinating read. It is written in a style where not only, historical accuracy is at the forefront but throughout the text, are inserted vignettes that gives the reader insight into the personality of this amazing historical figure. The battle descriptions are very well done for someone who is interested in historical warfare. I found these somewhat long but I can understand their importance given the magnitude of the armies involved and the swath of territories that were at stake. In fact, I have since bought the paper copy so that I can glance at the photographs and maps at length.

This is a long book that is (because of its length and weight) eminently suited to a Kindle, although if you have a tablet as well you will appreciate the fine colour illustrations and get more out of the maps.It is extremely readable and, quite often, becomes gripping. The author's style is distinguished both by clarity of expression and a mastery of the narrative art. I found it difficult to put down.Not only are Napoleon's battles depicted clearly and with an uncanny sense of the topology of a battlefield, but the author involves us in the Emperor's personal and family life, often with amusing or interesting anecdotes. The book also, without ever flagging, examines Napoleon's contribution to the fields of law-giving and the social reform that was necessary after the stagnation under the Bourbons and the excesses of the French Revolution.I can not recommend this book highly enough.

Unbiased, objective,fun and as close to accurate as possible I suppose. Napoleon was a product and an outcome of his time. 5 million dead can testify to the dangers of revolution combined with an opportunistic boyish Caesar worshipper for ages to come.

This is a thorough and a very well written book. As a general reader, I find it a riveting read. In fact, this book has inspired me to read Napoleon correspondence.

Many books are written on Napoleon, but this one is a very fresh new look, backed by extensive research and many little-known facts of his life, that opens a new page in the understanding of his life and actions. Well-written and pleasant to read.

Took me 2.5 years to finish and I loved every bit of this tale. I'm a RN but I take great interest in history. The point of what I'm saying is that the author writes in a way that is engaging to anyone with interest and passion

I enjoy reading this book. It is packed with dates and events; I could only read it for about an hour at a time. The author knows his subject very well.

Fantastic biography of Napoleon.. It has changed my vision of Napoleon in a prfound way. I think I understand the man better now

Excellent book, but requires patience and endurance as it is over 800 pages.

I read my first biography of Napoleon (Felix Markham's) back in 1965, and have read dozens more books on him since. This is the best I've read. It is distinguished by drawing on a study of Napoleon's 33,000 letters (published by the Fondation Napoléon in 2004, a third of which have never been published before) and an impressive array of primary and secondary sources. Alongside this, Roberts has visited all but 7 of Napoleon's 60 battlefields in the company of military experts, and key locations throughout Napoleon's life including Elba, the Route Napoléon and St Helena. It is an enthralling and insightful read, his command of the correspondence enabling him to illustrate the great man's protean mind as he juggled the immediacies of campaigns and battles with the minutiae of matters across an extraordinary range of subjects back home. The character studies of those around him are vivid.In his conclusion (the penultimate chapter, the final one "Envoi" being a sentence or two on what happened to all the other leading characters in the story after Napoleon's death) Roberts sums up his life and career, and sets out to justify his choice of title, which he does convincingly. Roberts makes a powerful case for Napoleon's powers as a civil administrator who shaped much of what is great about France today. He could perhaps have made more of Napoleon's wish not to bring destruction on French soil by fighting on in 1814 and 15 as compared with his cavalier attitude to causing carnage abroad, but there we are - a life like Napoleon's is likely to be rich in contradictions.The book is generously illustrated with 86 illustrations crammed into 24 colour plates. There are 29 maps, perhaps the least satisfactory aspect of the book as they don't always relate to the text in the most helpful way (places and features mentioned which don't appear on the map) and I've seen better battlefield maps, which don't do justice to Roberts's vivid descriptions. But these are always a challenge as the dispositions on the battlefield can change radically during the battle. A sloppy proof reading error (in the Penguin edition, presumably copied from the original hardback) on the map showing the movement of the Grande Armée from the Channel coast to the Rhine August-October 1805, prior to Austerlitz, says "1803" in the heading, which may confuse some people. One myth dispelled - it has always been said that when Napoleon gave the order to his gunners to fire on the ice across which the Russians were fleeing at Austerlitz that thousands of Russians were drowned, but Roberts tells us that recent excavations of reclaimed land at the lake have come up with only a dozen corpses and a couple of guns.