Napoleon: A Concise Biography

Covers his subject well.But some of his interpretations do smack of pre-conceived bias. For instance he does not give the background to rhe 'massacre at Jaffa'. Napoleon had earlier freed Turkish prisoners of war, but after a later battle discovered his new prisoners of war included men he had freed earlier, who had vowed not to take up arms again. With no extra rations, this time around the circumstances of war left him with no choice but to put this new batch of POWs to the sword. Otherwise he would keep swelling the ranks of his enemies.The author also liberally quotes the discredited Bourrienne. Making you wonder about his other sources.It is quite strange how some historians keep painting Napoleon as a war monger while excusing the 'Allies who raised seven coalitions against France after the revolution. Napoleon was not even in power when the first two were launched. It is pretty clear that Napoleon or not, these 'Allies would not have rested until a Bourbon was placed back on the French throne. Napoleon's 'crime' was continually defeating these coalitions in battle, until eventually overcome by British money and Russian, Prussian and Austrian manpower.It is also ironic that Napoleon is continually referred to as a 'dictator, as if his enemies were modern liberal democracies. There is no question that the French under Napoleon enjoyed greater rights than any other country of the time except arguably Britain. Who can doubt that Russians - especially serfs - would have been far better off had they been conquered by the French and granted the Code Napoleon?His enemies were all hereditary monarchs who ruled by decree. Which other ruler of the time - Britain again accepted - gave the public a chance to vote for or against him? As for the dismissal by some historians of Napoleon's 'loaded plebiscites', well surely his acclamation by the people on the return from Elba was concrete proof of his genuine popularity among the French masses?Perhaps there can be no greater calumny against Napoleon than to compare him to Hitler. Hitler the architect of the holocaust was the butcher of the Jews. Napoleon was greatest liberator of the Jews in European history, freeing them from the ghettos wherever he went. This was one of the main reasons why his enemies like Russian Czar dubbed him 'the anti-christ'. When he fell, the laws freeing the Jews were reversed.Historical what ifs can only speculative. But had Napoleon succeeded in creating a Europe governed by the Code Napoleon, the odds of a Stalin and Hitler coming to power would surely have been greatly reduced.Napoleon was in Lord Acton's words 'the ablest of historic men'. And yet in the end, perhaps it was for the better that even such a humane and tolerant genius did not attain the control he would have wished for? As Lord Acton also wrote, power corrupts even the best of men.

Strangely, less is more in this extraordinary biography of Napoleon. David Bell takes only little more than 100 pages to tell the remarkable story of the last great emperor of Europe. It takes full control of the facts about the rise and fall of Napoleon, facts that draw on his military genius, the chaotic state of European politics in the early-19th century, and a supine French government more than willing to crown a little known boy from Corsica as its “Emperor”. Along the way, Napoleon virtually redrew the map of Paris, changed the structure of its government, fused rural and suburban France into a functioning European power, and came close to ruling all of Europe.As Professor Bell says in the opening lines of his book, bookshelves are groaning under the weight of biographies of Napoleon. His contribution is to describe only the most pivotal moments of Napoleon’s life, relate them to the context of European history at the time, and move his story rapidly to its sad conclusion – sad for Napoleon, who stood at the top of Europe’s power structure and ended all but forgotten on a remote island in the middle of the South Atlantic ocean. This is a familiar story but Professor Bell makes it understandable by fitting it effortlessly into the broader history of Europe in the early 19th century.One cannot come away from this short book in awe of what a talented individual Napoleon was. He was a superb and inspiring leader, a genius at picking his battles and then executing them almost without any major errors, a great leader of a complicated nation recovering from a bloody revolution that ended in the decapitation of a king and queen.All this is packed into just over 100 pages. It is a great little work of history.

It’s size made it more easy to begin- glad I did. Well written, moves along swiftly neither demonizing or romanticizing this colorful figure. Perhaps due its concise length, the book underscores just what spectacle it really was. Napoleon did large things on an enormous scale but alas most of it for not.

It's the perfect history book for me because it's concise, factual, and most importantly, it's an easy read, which when push comes to shove, every kinda book should be.It doesn't bother me if some parts weren't deeply explored. I wasn't looking to come away knowing the reasoning behind every decision, or to become an expert on the subject.It did an excellent job of what I was looking for - a general explanation of how Napoleon came to power, how he stayed there, what he did while he was there, and his downfall. The author covered it all in around 150 pages. Well done.

I really liked this biography for one important reason. David is able to lay out the facts of what Napoleon did and is willing to let you decide if what he did was right or wrong. He doesn't paint him as a hero in shining armor, but he doesn't make him out to be the devil incarnate. Just the facts which is exactly what I wanted.

I wanted a quick review of Napoleon as I was traveling to France and wanted to know more about him and his rule. I felt satisfied overall with the content although was hoping for more details on some of his more famous battles.

I wish there were more books out there like this one on other vast subjects. This book is perfect for someone looking to learn about Napoleon without earning a doctorate on the subject. It was exactly what I was looking for.

this book is a concise book on his life others out there have done indebt studys of his political and military careers but this is a overview of it all good for a starting point

I bought this book for two reasons: it got a really good review in one of the British History magazines I read, and I have been reading quite a bit about the Napoleonic wars lately, including several biographies of Napoleon. First impressions when the book arrived: it's small in physical size and relatively thin (just over 100 pages)! I was expecting a bigger book, for some reason. That's not a negative, simply an observation. If anything, the size actually works well here, as I was more included to pick up the book and start reading than if it was a huge 1,000-pager. There's only a few illustrations, and I would have liked a few more, but that's a minor complaint.This book reads well and quickly: I finished the book in a couple of days. This is a combination of biography of Napoleon himself, as well as an observation on the times and wars he was engaged in. This helps keep the narrative about the man in the correct historical context, as well as the social context, so it's easier to understand both why he did certain things, and why some things were radical (for the context). If anything, this is the outstanding aspect of this book I liked: it's not just a "he did this, then this, then that" but more "reacting to these conditions, he did this" and helps illuminate the man and his thought processes.How does this book compare to some of the much lengthier biographies? Obviously there's less information in this book that some of the others, but having read two other biographies in the last couple of months, I don't think anything that's missing is crucial or lacking in Bell's narrative. (This is, after all, a 'concise' bio!) Sure, some of the details of his life and times are briefly touched on, and some readers may want more detail, but as a bio of one of the more controversial figures in history, I found this an excellent review and a springboard to reading about some aspects in more detail in other sources (there's a solid reference section at the end).Overall, probably the best bio of Napoleon I've read, and also probably one of the best biographies in general I've read in the last few years. If you have any interest in the Napoleonic era, the wars of the time, and the man who drove them all, this is a great buy.

Very interesting and informative.

Short and concise read as advertised! Really enjoyed this book on Napoleon!

This book really delivered for me for three reasons.First, as the title suggests, it was concise. I wanted something that covered the ground with sufficient detail to be interesting, but without getting crushed by thousands of words. This book did that very successfully.Second, the book did far more than tell a story. It set major events in historical context and helped explain the story. For example, the author explains why both Napoleon’s meteoric rise to power and his popularity after the escape from Elba were possible, despite opposing reasons and circumstances.Third, it is well-written. The author is a scholar who can communicate his learning to a general audience.I can thoroughly recommend the book. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot from it.

Napoleon is not judged by todays standards by saying he was terrible for his opinion on slaves for instance.