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Napoleon: A Life

Andrew Roberts

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Aug 18, 2014 Jeff Scott rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, biography, male, history

Every generation reserves the right to interpret the great leaders of history. The figure of Napoleon has always been a polarizing figure; people either love him or hate him. Over the years, many historians have applied the psychosis de jour to explain his faults or accomplishments. Andrew Roberts’ biography doesn’t do anything new or innovative in his interpretation of Napoleon. What he does do, is demonstrate clearly the man’s extraordinary leadership, innovation, and an incredible mind. Welli Every generation reserves the right to interpret the great leaders of history. The figure of Napoleon has always been a polarizing figure; people either love him or hate him. Over the years, many historians have applied the psychosis de jour to explain his faults or accomplishments. Andrew Roberts’ biography doesn’t do anything new or innovative in his interpretation of Napoleon. What he does do, is demonstrate clearly the man’s extraordinary leadership, innovation, and an incredible mind. Wellington would say that he would have preferred to hear his enemy had 40,000 reinforcements than to hear Napoleon was on the field troops. Roberts also demonstrates the man’s faults and how hubris and micro-management would lead to his downfall. We are presented with the whole person, faults and all, with easily explainable poor decisions not overwrought psycho-analysis, mythical feats, or falling into a neither complete adoration nor villainy of Napoleon. That, in particular, is what makes this biography stand out among others.

Roberts’ access to letters and interspersing that information with Napoleon’s writings after his exile make for a compelling read. Events are unveiled in real time with the occasional foreshadowing by Napoleon’s writings or snippets from a biography of the time period. The letters reveal Napoleon the man.
Roberts’ does not emphasize his faults as much as he could, but he does draw a clear line of mistakes with European Alliances, the Continental Program (banning of British goods that caused more harm than good), and the disastrous Russian invasion led to his downfall. Furthermore, he didn’t develop his own leaders and relied on only his own judgment on the battlefield to win which led to subsequent defeats and then not enough men to fight a superior force.
It’s also difficult to say if the Napoleonic Law would be a result of his micro-management or simply an extension of what was needed after years of the Ancien Regime. One could accredit it to one man, but it seems more likely a natural flow of events with the politically astute Napoleon staying ahead of the game. A game he could not stay on top of forever for he did not build up personal loyalty or build up others. People were behind him as long as he continued with his victories. Even the French welcomed the coalition forces that entered Paris.

A solid biography updated for today’s reading style, but the book caters to those who are already reading biographies of US Presidents, European Rulers, and the like.
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