Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is not only the first one-volume history of Napoleon but also THE book on Napoleon to read if you are new to his life-history or looking for a fresh take. Thanks to the recent release of his private letters (33,000+) and a fellowship at the Napoleonic Institute, Roberts has a far wider and deeper look into this infamous leader than any other author has had before. I sometimes find one-volume efforts unwieldy, but Roberts has been providing this style of high-quality history reading ever since "The Storm of War" and "Masters and Commanders", and this book simply follows suit! To say it simply, he knows the material and shares it well. I wouldn't call myself an expert of western history, really an amateur aficionado at best, even though I've read a lot about world politics of the time including biographies of the personalities and memoirs by the participants. This book sets a great foundation for Kissinger's "A World Restored", which picks up after the fall of Napoleon. For far too long, Napoleon has been subjected to over-sized myths and slanderous libel. Roberts' thesis is that Napoleon was not at all some kind of proto-Hitler dictator but rather the last and greatest leader of the Enlightenment who had many admirable qualities. A surprisingly sympathetic view from a Brit! Of course he had an ugly side (responsibility for wars that killed 4-6 million isn't easily forgotten or forgiven) but I was impressed to learn of his involvement in the regeneration of post-Revolution France, patronage to the arts, and establishment of equality under the Napoleon Code. From his upbringing in the obscure (yet lovely) town of Ajaccio, Corsica, only recently purchased by Louis XV from the Genoese, Napoleon never lost the sense that he was not-exactly-French. Napoleon led his life with remarkable order and discipline and his dream to lead benefited France almost by accident. Politically, his impact on his country and Europe was clearly profound, but militarily he was out of this world! Roberts' captures his revolutionary touch of warfare, military supplies, logistics, and the use of artillery and tactics, especially in such battles as Austerlitz in 1805 and Friedland in 1807. The one area that I found flaw in the book was in Roberts' retelling of Napoleon's strategic failings. One of his key arguments that the catastrophic invasion of Russia in 1812 was beyond his control, really overlooks what Napoleon overlooked - which is that he underestimated not just the skill of their generals (ie. Barclay de Tolly) and fighting quality of their troops, but also the determination of the tsar. And although Roberts concedes that "Napoleon's understanding of naval affairs was dismal," his brief mention of losing Trafalgar in 1805 really understates the issue. The Battle of Trafalgar was pivotal in determining world trade systems and killed French hopes of invading England while boosting British economy so that even by 1815 France had barely reached Britain's level of industrialism in 1780. In short, I recommend this book whole-heartedly as a one-volume history of Napoleon which reassesses his rule from a distance of time. Hopefully you don't mind that I came to this opinion by reading a review copy of the book and instead found this review helpful!