Andrew Roberts' "Napoleon: A Life" - The Definitive Biography

ochiBan: The Book: 926 pages: 810 Text; 116 Index, Notes, Bibliography. Quality of paper and print: Easy to read and even after reading keeping a "straight" paperback. Notes are of negligable utility. Sources are named acurrately. Good historical craft.
The Text:
How to write a balanced biography of a person described as genius, "greatest military mind"-OAT, law-giver, mass-murderer, monster, who has polarized even long after his death!? Many fail. The Bonapartists find no fault, or explain everything away. His opponents describe all of his achievements as "luck" or "stolen" from others (particularly from the undoubtably able Davout). So most biographers drift into blind admiration or deep loathing. The problem is, that people are rarely all good or evil! Roberts, while obviously admiring Napoleon - which is his motivation for this work - gives the reader enough information to be able to think for themselves. Certainly there are some lengthy portions. Nevertheless, this is a, as far as with Napoleon possible, well balanced Biography, of which I will certainly re-read portions multiple times.

Germany on Nov 19, 2023

Hector E.: Being a. Napoleon fan and having just visited Corsica and Elba I read this book for the second time. No question about it, Mr. Andrews does an absolute bang up job, this is a well researched book and I enjoyed very much the description of Napoleon’s accomplishments as well as the battles. However, I was baffled to read that during his coronation on December 2nd 1804 the author quotes the Bolivian ambassador making a comment about Napoleon’s last name. I am not baffled by the ambassador’s comment but rather by the fact that in 1804 Bolivia did not exist, it was part of Peru, a Spanish colony at the time. Bolivia did not become a country until 1825.

United States on Nov 14, 2023

Wadud: I bought this book in May 2023 and it took me a couple of months to finish it. I think the author gathered quite an amazing amount of information on this period and researched well on the subject before deciding to write this wholesome biography on one of the greatest strategists, and human beings that ever lived. As Nietzsche said Napoleon was the closest that humans came to experience "Superman". Like him or not, it doesn't matter, as his life is full of ups and downs in which a man climbs the ladders of his destiny with an unmeasurable force, rewriting every step of it according to his wishes and plans. The paper quality is good value for money as I bought the Paperback version. I really liked the printed pictures on high-quality paper which added more value to the physical book. If you could afford it, I would recommend going with the Hard Cover edition as you might want to keep this book for a long time and come back to it from time to time. Otherwise, the paperback edition is good enough and there is sufficient space in the margins to write some notes. Highly recommend this book.

United States on Nov 08, 2023

Alberto: 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

Mexico on Nov 04, 2023

Patty Merritt: I have read quite a few Andrew Roberts histories and have loved them all. I don't LOVE this one. Having said that, I'm glad I bought it and stuck with it.

There isn't a lot of the personal in this work, and what is in here isn't exactly fascinating. For example, much has been made of Napoleon and Josephine, but what's in here is fairly cut and dried: she had an affair, so he had an affair; he wrote Josephine "XYZ" after the battle; etc.

Once I accepted that I was reading military history and it would mostly be about the battles, I enjoyed the work much more. I've skimmed an equally hefty work my father has, The Battles of Napoleon. I definitely prefer Roberts' work over that because he puts the battles in the context of Napoleon's career and life.

If you don't like military history or reading about battles in some depth, don't buy this.

United States on Oct 18, 2023

Kindler: 元はイタリア領のコルシカ(後にフランス領)に生まれ、砲兵士官を経てフランス皇帝にまで上りつめ数奇の運命を辿った稀代の英傑の生涯をナポレオン研究の第一人者Andrew...

Japan on Feb 17, 2023

Manhar: 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...

India on Apr 30, 2018

AW: In this massive biography, Andrew Roberts has produced an epic review of Napoleon Bonaparte. He focuses on Napoleon the man rather than the myth. He succeeds at presenting a mostly-balanced account of his life, showing us a human being capable of inspiring immense respect and awe even 200 years after his feats. But we also see the failures of mind and body, with evidence aplenty of Napoleon’s more repulsive qualities. Overall, Roberts sees Napoleon’s contribution to history in a positive light, and this is evident throughout the book. But we also clearly see the common cliché regarding the corruptive influence power has on the mind. Even Napoleon's remarkable mind was susceptible to these influences.

Roberts’s work is unique in that his is among the first biographies to leverage recently published primary documents that provide new windows into Napoleon and his character. This allows fresh glimpses of the man both at work and at play. What takes shape is a human being, not a God-like myth or statue with a rigid character. Napoleon, like most of us, changed throughout his life. He adhered to (or was influenced by) competing values that frequently fought one another...

United States on Mar 06, 2017

TWJ: Napoleon ist die faszinierendste Herrschergestalt Europas seit der Antike. Er war intelligent und belesen wie nur Mark Aurel und Friedrich II. vor ihm; machthungrig und durchsetzungsstark wie Ludwig XIV. und Friedrich der Große; ein Heerführer und Eroberer wie Alexander und Cäsar - und bei all dem war er auch noch ein geistreicher und witziger Mensch, der mit Wissenschaftlern und Philosophen auf Augenhöhe diskutieren konnte. So ganz nebenbei hat er die Französische Revolution beendet, die Republiken von Venedig und Genua abgeschafft, den Papst verhaftet, das größte europäische Reich seit dem Imperium Romanum aufgebaut, mehr Schlachten gewonnen als jeder andere Feldherr (53 von 60) und die beste Armee seiner Zeit geführt.

Es gibt 10.000 Biographien von Napoleon, von denen zehn oder mehr zu jeder Zeit im Buchhandel verfügbar sind. 1500 Menschen haben ihre Erinnerungen an ihn veröffentlicht. Genau wie bei Luther, Goethe und Beethoven wurde jeder Tag in Napoleons Leben erforscht, jedes Wehwehchen untersucht, jede Bettgeschichte unter die Lupe genommen, jeder Ausspruch, jeder Witz und jeder Fehler des großen kleinen Korsen sorgfältig dokumentiert.

Brauchen...

Germany on May 08, 2015