Napoleon bonaparte: A Life - Softcover

"A rip-roaring yarn...a vast dramatis personae of emperors and princesses, marshals and bishops, mistresses and murderers....NAPOLEON does, as it claims, present the whole Napoleon, the public and the private face....Schom has a lively style, and a neat turn of phrase, and his book reads well."--Robert Gildea, The New York Times Book Review"Meticulously researched...Schom presents a rounded portrait not only of Napoleon but also of the principal figures in his extraordinary life...and brilliantly presents Napoleon's life while appropriately deflating his legend."--Dan Wick, Washington Post Book World"Polished, scholarly, and successful."--Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker"Superb. Mr. Schom has achieved every historian's dream; using exemplary scholarship to write a page-turning best seller."--Len Deighton, historian and novelist"A darkly nuanced biography.....In many ways, Schom's strengths as a historian match those of his protagonist....Schom reveals a tactical mastery of the events of Napoleon's life, calling to mind the emperor's grasp of terrain. His book is bold in scope, and ...his salvos are devastating."--Ed Voves, Philadelphia Inquirer"A badly needed comprehensive, one-volume life .[NAPOLEON] does a magnificent job of covering the full sweep of Napoleon's career."--John Maxwell Hamilton, Chicago Tribune"Vigorously researched and often brilliantly written.[an] ultimately balanced, no-nonsense portrait that has the benefit of 20th-century science."--Carolyn Nizzi Warmbold, Atlanta Journal/Atlanta Constitution"Schom has a lively style.....His technique....is very effective....[NAPOLEON] is a timely book."--Gregor Dallas, Los Angeles Times Book Review"This biography by Alan Schom willshake the Napoleonic clientele--and for good reasons, too."--David Chandler, author of THE CAMPAIGNS OF NAPOLEON"Napoleon has fascinated mankind for two centuries, and Mr. Schom's book is just as fascinating."--Bob Trimble, Dallas Morning News"Ambitious.readable, even gossipy."--Spencer C. Tucker, Fort Worth Star-Telegram"Always gripping...Schom's fine biography...is a major in-depth study....Professional historians and general readers will find NAPOLEON BONAPARTE an engrossing book."--Joseph H. Dugas, Grand Rapids Press"Powerful."--Joseph Losos, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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. It is a consummate biography of a complex man.