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dmhayden76's review against another edition
It turns out, I don’t really care to read about Napoleon’s life. No problem with the book, just with the subject.
jasperburns's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I'm torn, because although I thought this book was a fine piece of history, I found it very difficult to stay engaged with. I found it to have both incredible depth and breadth, and while the combination of these two makes it exceptionally useful for a historian or true student of Napoleon, for the amateur consumer like myself it proved to be rather daunting.
It's fascinating that such a mighty emperor existed in so recent a time; he may be the last great single conqueror to ever exist. I found it interesting that some maxims of military strategy seem to be so generalizable; concentration of force is both a principle of Napoleonic ground warfare as well as Mahanian naval strategy. It was curious to hear about Napoleon's multiculturalism, and his willingness to learn and adopt the cultures of those he was invading. He was a devout reader, intellectually disciplined, and socially cordial. It's surprising that he let himself go at the end of his life, becoming corpulent, lazy, and sometimes suicidal. This book does a great job at chronicling every aspect of his life.
While perhaps beyond the direct scope of the book, I would have appreciated some increased context of his reign in comparison to the wider world. While he was coming to power, the great early American presidents were in power, and the philosophy of democratism and republicanism were slowly blooming. I would have liked some greater discussion as to the philosophy behind Napoleon's civic goals and those of either the new American republic or of the French Revolution. These topics we're lightly touched on, but I left with a history of the conflicts between Napoleon, the Jacobins, the Bourbons, etc., but without a good understanding of the conflicting ideologies between them all.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who really wants to know every aspect of Napoleon's life, but for the average reader who wants a general idea of what he did and why he was important, it might be worth finding a more concise and engaging account.
View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns.blog.
It's fascinating that such a mighty emperor existed in so recent a time; he may be the last great single conqueror to ever exist. I found it interesting that some maxims of military strategy seem to be so generalizable; concentration of force is both a principle of Napoleonic ground warfare as well as Mahanian naval strategy. It was curious to hear about Napoleon's multiculturalism, and his willingness to learn and adopt the cultures of those he was invading. He was a devout reader, intellectually disciplined, and socially cordial. It's surprising that he let himself go at the end of his life, becoming corpulent, lazy, and sometimes suicidal. This book does a great job at chronicling every aspect of his life.
While perhaps beyond the direct scope of the book, I would have appreciated some increased context of his reign in comparison to the wider world. While he was coming to power, the great early American presidents were in power, and the philosophy of democratism and republicanism were slowly blooming. I would have liked some greater discussion as to the philosophy behind Napoleon's civic goals and those of either the new American republic or of the French Revolution. These topics we're lightly touched on, but I left with a history of the conflicts between Napoleon, the Jacobins, the Bourbons, etc., but without a good understanding of the conflicting ideologies between them all.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who really wants to know every aspect of Napoleon's life, but for the average reader who wants a general idea of what he did and why he was important, it might be worth finding a more concise and engaging account.
View my best reviews and a collection of mental models at jasperburns.blog.
shannon_jayne1's review
challenging
informative
reflective
4.0
I came to this book only possessing basic knowledge of Napoleon and feel I have gained so much from this. Overall I really enjoyed this read. Not necessarily negatives but it’s worth mentioning that; I did struggle with conceptualising some of the battles in my head (which could just be a me problem), and Roberts seems to sympathise with Napoleon quite a bit and so it’s good to keep that in mind while reading.
saaraa96's review against another edition
3.0
من که به ورژن بسیار خلاصه شده ی بدتایم بیوگرافی‌ش گوش دادم ولی فقط ورژن اصلی اینجا ثبت شده بود.
اول اینکه: خدایی حق ناپلئون نبود که تو جنگ کشته نشه و اونطور بمیره.
بعدم اینکه: یادم بمونه یا همین کتاب رو اصلیشو بخونم، یا یه سری چیز یکم بیشتر از این بدتایمی ها.
چون تاریخ فرانسه نمیدونم فکر میکردم خیلی بد باشه راجع به زندگی این بخوام بخونم، ولی اوکی بود، فکر کنم یکم کامل تر باشه بهتره.(نه خیلی با جزییات. در حال حاضر مغزم گنجایش حجم زیاد خوندن نداره.)
اول اینکه: خدایی حق ناپلئون نبود که تو جنگ کشته نشه و اونطور بمیره.
بعدم اینکه: یادم بمونه یا همین کتاب رو اصلیشو بخونم، یا یه سری چیز یکم بیشتر از این بدتایمی ها.
چون تاریخ فرانسه نمیدونم فکر میکردم خیلی بد باشه راجع به زندگی این بخوام بخونم، ولی اوکی بود، فکر کنم یکم کامل تر باشه بهتره.(نه خیلی با جزییات. در حال حاضر مغزم گنجایش حجم زیاد خوندن نداره.)
alexhbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
In encyclopedic fashion, Roberts details every single battle and just about every single conversation Napoléon Bonaparte has ever had from the time of his birth in Ajaccio Corsica to his fateful death on St. Helena Island. This was at times hard to follow given the precision in detailing exact numbers of troops killed, wounded, captured, and all the names of those with which Napoléon interacted. It felt like I was reading a McGraw Hill textbook but I was thoroughly impressed and feel extremely informed on this absolute force of a being from the 19th century.
Only knowing that he was a French political figure over 200 years ago, I am glad I chose this such biography as I was coming to understand that historians seem to paint him as a villain. Robert’s extensive research and eloquent way of deciphering all of Napoleons letters with context and clarity it proved to me that he was more of a benevolent dictator who at the end of the day was well intentioned if perhaps overly ambitious to the detriment of himself, his relationships, and the thousands of soldiers who perished fighting for his dream.
Only knowing that he was a French political figure over 200 years ago, I am glad I chose this such biography as I was coming to understand that historians seem to paint him as a villain. Robert’s extensive research and eloquent way of deciphering all of Napoleons letters with context and clarity it proved to me that he was more of a benevolent dictator who at the end of the day was well intentioned if perhaps overly ambitious to the detriment of himself, his relationships, and the thousands of soldiers who perished fighting for his dream.