Napoleon: A Life
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Overview
In an ideal pairing of author and subject, the magisterial historian Paul Johnson offers a vivid look at the life of the strategist, general, and dictator who conquered much of Europe. Following Napoleon from the barren island of Corsica to his early training in Paris, from his meteoric victories and military dictatorship to his exile and death, Johnson examines the origins of his ferocious ambition. In Napoleon's quest for power, he sees a realist unfettered by loyalty or ideology; in his violent legacy, a model for the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. Napoleon is dramatic testimony to a single individual's ability to work his will on history.
Synopsis
A bestselling historian's vigorous and searching biography of the towering figure who cast his shadow over two centuries
In an ideal pairing of author and subject, the magisterial historian Paul Johnson offers a vivid look at the life of the strategist, general, and dictator who conquered much of Europe. Following Napoleon from the barren island of Corsica to his early training in Paris, from his meteoric victories and military dictatorship to his exile and death, Johnson examines the origins of his ferocious ambition. In Napoleon's quest for power, he sees a realist unfettered by loyalty or ideology; in his violent legacy, a model for the totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. Napoleon is dramatic testimony to a single individual's ability to work his will on history.
Book
...a near-perfect model of what a brief book can and should be: crisp, clear and strongly personal.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Historian Paul Johnson thinks that Napoleon makes an ideal candidate to be a subject in the Penguin Lives series: "Most people certainly regard Napoleon as a major historical figure, but otherwise know very little about the details of his life." Such ignorance will lift with this concise yet thoroughly opinionated biography. Johnson's status as one of the world's most renowned and controversial historians, however, will remain secure.Book
...a near-perfect model of what a brief book can and should be: crisp, clear and strongly personal.Publishers Weekly
The career of a different kind of celebrity hound is examined in historian Paul Johnson's Napoleon. Johnson (A History of the American People) contends that Bonaparte sowed the seeds of the devastating warfare and totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. Stressing that the Corsican general was motivated by opportunism alone, Johnson traces his rise to power and expansionist bids, arguing that the most important legacies of his rule were the eclipse of France as the leading European power and the introduction of such enduring institutions as the secret police and government propaganda operations. ( on sale May 13) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.Forbes Magazine
Succinct, incisive portrait of the most written-about figure in history, except for Christ. With an unerring scalpel, Johnson cuts to the quick of Napoleon's character. Though a genius of extraordinary dimension, Bonaparte was a ruthless opportunist. No Lincolnesque ideals or vision motivated him in his endless wars, only conquest and personal power. He was the prototype of the 20th-century totalitarian dictator: He wielded absolute power; created widespread networks of secret police and spies; controlled a massive government propaganda machine, aided by collaborating intellectuals, artists and authors; held phony elections and plebiscites; and engendered those never-ending conflicts. Bonaparte was no ideologue à la Hitler, Mao or Lenin. Although quite capable of wanton cruelty, he did not have the lust for killing for the sake of killing that drove Hitler and Stalin. However, his example of unrestrained power helped make their type possible. (2 Sep 2002)—Steve Forbes