Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life - Softcover

Schom, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060929588 ISBN 13: 9780060929589

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 1998

Synopsis

A definitive biography of Bonaparte from his birth in Corsica to his death in exile on St Helena, this book examines all aspects of Bonaparte′s spectacular rise to power and his dizzying fall. It offers close examination of battlefield victories, personal torments, military genius, Bonaparte′s titanic ego and his relationships with the French government, Talleyrand, Wellington and Josephine. A consummate biography of a complex man.

About this title

Review:

You won't come away from this energetic biography thinking much of the French emperor either as a man or as a general. Historian Alan Schom depicts Napoleon (1769-1821) as a cold-hearted manipulator: Schom's blistering accounts of the 1798-99 Egyptian campaign and the disastrous 1812 retreat from Russia show the French army decimated due to its leader's failure to inform himself about the lands he was invading or to properly plan for provisioning his troops. The fun of this book comes from vigorous prose that vividly evokes Bonaparte's titanic personality and the colorful band of schemers surrounding him.

About the Author:

Alan Schom is a Fellow at the Hoover Institution and has lectured on French History at Oxford University. He lives in California and France.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0060929588
• ISBN 13: 9780060929589
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 944