Napoleon: A Life, (Paperback)

from ORFisHome

Broad picture of a maniac. Seemed to presume a fair amount of foreknowledge. Loved the final sentence. "We have to learn again the central lesson of history: that all forms of greatness, military and administrative, nation and empire building, are as nothing--indeed are perilous in the extreme--w...

from IFREF

Broad picture of a maniac. Seemed to presume a fair amount of foreknowledge. Loved the final sentence. "We have to learn again the central lesson of history: that all forms of greatness, military and administrative, nation and empire building, are as nothing--indeed are perilous in the extreme--w...

from keywestnan

I've loved the concept of this Penguin Lives series (now ongoing with a different publisher) since it started -- match excellent writers with worthy subjects, and keep it relatively short. It's a nice way to read a biography without investing the kind of time a lot of giant tomes require. I'd bee...

from BruderBane

Paul Johnson's "Napoleon" a Penguin Life is an excellent extended treatise of the life, career and ramifications of Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Johnson does a truly superb job of not only describing Bonaparte's roots, upbringing and idiosyncrasies but also his effect on the lives of those soldiers on...

from BruderBane

Paul Johnson's "Napoleon" a Penguin Life is an excellent extended treatise of the life, career and ramifications of Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Johnson does a truly superb job of not only describing Bonaparte's roots, upbringing and idiosyncrasies but also his effect on the lives of those soldiers on...