Napoleon: A Biography Paperback – April 27, 2021

Havse found out that i am related to Napoleon

In preparation for the release of Ridley Scotts new movie "Napoleon", November 2023 decided to read up on the namesake. The book by Frank Mclynn is absolutely awesome. You get an in depth look at Napoleons family, upbringing, education, rise to power and insight into what made him tick. Highly recommend the read before the movie. Enjoy

I had been wanting to get around to reading a biography of Napoleon, and after searching the books reviews and comments on the internet, particularly this site, I chose this one by McLynn. I was over all impressed. It's not easy to capture such an immense figure who fought sixty major battles, had a couple of dozen field marshals, ruled on and off for 20 years, and had a bunch of siblings (four brothers, three sisters), two wives, and countless mistresses with seemingly everyone hopping in and out of bed with everyone. So McLynn does a pretty good job of capturing it all and presenting it to you. But I do have some peeves. He engages in way too much psychobabble about N's oedipal, misogynistic, and oriental complexes. There are very few maps. If you are going to spend so much time talking about the campaign in Egypt, a map would be nice, likewise the campaign in Spain which N didn't even personally participate in was covered in detail with no map of Spain. In fact, a map of France would have been nice considering all the time the author tells you of N's processions and maneuvers from town to town. There is a map of the Russian campaign, but as luck would have it, a lot of the action seemed to take place at the center fold on the map between facing pages (not sure how you prevent that). It would also be nice if the author included a graphic time line, and a family tree or list of N's relatives and spouses, that the reader can refer back to. Unfortunately neither was included.The author devotes chapters to aspects of France under N such as its economy, culture, education, law, political system etc. But I sometimes got annoyed since it was done in way that interrupted the narrative. Likewise, all the analysis of N's personality throughout, led me to want to say "get on with the story"! All of N's marshals and diplomats are either placed on pedestals or the in the doghouse with adjectives such as good, bad, worthless, or treacherous. And McLynn has some dubious opinions. The Russian peasants who rose against N's Grand Army were described as really not hating the French, it was just that they had no way of getting get back at their Russian overseers, so they "projected" their anger unto the French! Near the end, while N is a prisoner at St. Helena, the author seems to concentrate solely on N's physical state and the relations with captors and his staff. I had thought this was when N accomplished some important writing and interviews, looking back at his career...this aspect was barely touched on. The author's lengthy analysis of why he thinks N was poisoned by arsenic belongs more in a peer reviewed journal. At the very end the author presents a chapter of "conclusions" on N, weighing him against Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Castro etc, that I thought was sophomoric and forced. The reader would have been better served by an epilogue that told something of what happened afterwards to N's relatives and other key players,and their descendents. This was entirely left out. He mentions in a single by the way sentence that both Marshals Ney and Murrat had been executed (it made N sad).The author assumes the reader to have a wide ranging view of history. For example, he compares N to "Tamerlane, who at Angora in 1402 overwhelmed the Ottoman Turks under Bayazid, fresh from his triumph over the flower of Christian chivalry at Nicopolis". Huh? Also the author has an elegant vocabulary, and frequently uses french sayings in italics that had me constantly turning to my IPAD.On the plus side the book delivers what it promises, a good overview of Napoleon's life and associated events. McLynn writes in an opinionated, breezy, readable style that I found enjoyable. So I do recommend the book, but there are caveats.Stanley R. Schneider

Is there room for another Napoleon biography? Sure, just like yet another Lincoln biography. There is always a slightly different approach to men who alter history in such big ways.The author of this biography focuses on personal relationships between and among the players. Especially Napoleon's immediate family. I appreciated his drawing distinctions that prior biographers have made, and explaining why one view may be better than another.Finally, the analysis he provided of the ultimate cause of Napoleon's death was fascinating. Working backward from what we know, but also what we can never know, he made some startling conclusions. I won't spoil the surprise but recommend that you read it to find out.

Just about everything that can be known about Napoleon (exept perhaps whether he was poisoned) are known today. So this book adds little value in terms of historical importance. Given this, I put higher emphasis on the readabilty and the entertainment value of the book. Although not badly written, I felt the writing could have been more salacious. It is written somewhat like a college history textbook. More than a few times, I put this book down and fell asleep. Very few lives have been as remarkable and as interesting as Napoleon's. This book is a classic case in which the author fails to emphasize on the interesting aspects of his life (his rise, historical significance, brilliance, lovers, marriage life, and how people worshipped him etc). Instead, each aspect of his life seems to be given even distribution. The book could have had more sizzle without compromising historical integrity.

The author's attempt to avoid being drawn into the bias of other biographers, be they Anglophile or Francophile in nature, has led to a well-balanced insight into a legendary figure. This book dispelled many "myths" I had heard about Napoleon but led me to appreciate even more his mark on history. This was no Hitler or Stalin - more a Caesar that wasn't slain in the midst of his prime.

I am enjoying Napoleon for the reading. It has much personal information I did not know. Am also using it for some research on Napoleon's time in Germany. I am not an expert in this area, but find it very interesting.