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verdunbeach's review against another edition
4.0
Gueniffey writes a highly interesting account of Bonaparte's rise. Instead of questioning whether Bonaparte was a force for good or bad, he is more concerned with sharing the tale of Bonaparte's unrivalled meteoric rise. As a reader, this was an appreciated strategy. Napoleon's rise from a random small gentry family to Consul for Life in a country he wasn't even born in is remarkable, and shouldn't be tainted by editorializing Napoleon's rise.
A second aspect Gueniffey pulled off extremely well was taking the care to expose relevant social and geopolitical contexts in depth. Some historians are hyper focused on their specific subject, but then assume the reader has a mastery of the complicated internal or external geopolitical and social issues of an obscure mid-sized European duchy. When the historian then ties in his subject to the events of states surrounding him, the reader doesn't have sufficient context to appreciate the motives and the complexity of what was accomplished. Not so with Gueniffey, he will go into relevant detail on the factors at play in late 18th century Italy, France's relationship with England and Austria, and providing background on Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluks. This puts into perfect context most of Napoleon's achievements and generates deeper understanding of his genius and fortune for the reader.
On the flip side, the book is a little too long. Despite being an enjoyable read with good prose, at one point you become saturated with a single subject and are ready to move on, and in this case there were still hundreds of pages left. Secondly, Gueniffey chose to enter into the details of the French Revolution in the final third of the book as Napoleon's political career takes off. Given the importance of the Revolution on current events in the beginning of Napoleon's adulthood, it was hard at first to fully understand the interplay among contemporary political powers without real understanding of the Jacobins, the Directory, the Convention, the Vendémiens, etc.
A second aspect Gueniffey pulled off extremely well was taking the care to expose relevant social and geopolitical contexts in depth. Some historians are hyper focused on their specific subject, but then assume the reader has a mastery of the complicated internal or external geopolitical and social issues of an obscure mid-sized European duchy. When the historian then ties in his subject to the events of states surrounding him, the reader doesn't have sufficient context to appreciate the motives and the complexity of what was accomplished. Not so with Gueniffey, he will go into relevant detail on the factors at play in late 18th century Italy, France's relationship with England and Austria, and providing background on Egypt, the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluks. This puts into perfect context most of Napoleon's achievements and generates deeper understanding of his genius and fortune for the reader.
On the flip side, the book is a little too long. Despite being an enjoyable read with good prose, at one point you become saturated with a single subject and are ready to move on, and in this case there were still hundreds of pages left. Secondly, Gueniffey chose to enter into the details of the French Revolution in the final third of the book as Napoleon's political career takes off. Given the importance of the Revolution on current events in the beginning of Napoleon's adulthood, it was hard at first to fully understand the interplay among contemporary political powers without real understanding of the Jacobins, the Directory, the Convention, the Vendémiens, etc.
markk's review
5.0
When it comes to Napoleon Bonaparte there is no shortage of books written about the man. For decades a steady stream of studies about his life and accomplishments have bene produced, and the thriving industry of Napoleonic studies shows no signs of hitting a slump. The sheer volume, though, poses a challenge of assessment: which one to read?
Recently I decided to answer that question for myself. With the help of a friend who is a self-described Napoleon fan I decided to assess which of the major two-volume Napoleon biographies are the best. I decided to focus on these both for the depth of analysis they presumably offer and for the stature in the historical profession possessed by their authors, all of whom are leading scholars of French history, and we started with the recently translated first volume of Patrice Gueniffey's projected two-volume biography of Bonaparte. Gueniffey, who is the director of the Ramond Aron Center for Political Research at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, has written a rich study of Bonaparte that stretches from his Corsican background to just before his establishment of his emperorship. In depth of analysis and in tone it reminds me more than just a little of Michael Burlingame's great two-volume [b:Abraham Lincoln: A Life|3514309|Abraham Lincoln A Life|Michael Burlingame|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349106746s/3514309.jpg|3556003], a work that is the product of enormous depth of study and understanding of its subject. Though generally an admirer of Bonaparte, Gueniffey pulls no punches in his criticisms, and his book is much the better for it, Reading it helped fill in many of the gaps I had in my knowledge about Bonaparte's early years, particularly regarding his relationship with his first wife Josephine, his ascent to power in 1799, and his political achievements in office. In a way, though, I regret having made it our first selection, as after finishing it it's difficult to imagine the other books measuring up to it in terms of detail, insights, and readability.
Recently I decided to answer that question for myself. With the help of a friend who is a self-described Napoleon fan I decided to assess which of the major two-volume Napoleon biographies are the best. I decided to focus on these both for the depth of analysis they presumably offer and for the stature in the historical profession possessed by their authors, all of whom are leading scholars of French history, and we started with the recently translated first volume of Patrice Gueniffey's projected two-volume biography of Bonaparte. Gueniffey, who is the director of the Ramond Aron Center for Political Research at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, has written a rich study of Bonaparte that stretches from his Corsican background to just before his establishment of his emperorship. In depth of analysis and in tone it reminds me more than just a little of Michael Burlingame's great two-volume [b:Abraham Lincoln: A Life|3514309|Abraham Lincoln A Life|Michael Burlingame|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349106746s/3514309.jpg|3556003], a work that is the product of enormous depth of study and understanding of its subject. Though generally an admirer of Bonaparte, Gueniffey pulls no punches in his criticisms, and his book is much the better for it, Reading it helped fill in many of the gaps I had in my knowledge about Bonaparte's early years, particularly regarding his relationship with his first wife Josephine, his ascent to power in 1799, and his political achievements in office. In a way, though, I regret having made it our first selection, as after finishing it it's difficult to imagine the other books measuring up to it in terms of detail, insights, and readability.
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