About:
Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts is a biography of the famous general and statesman. Mr. Roberts is a noted British historian and award winning author.
- 976 pages
- Publisher: Viking Adult
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0670025321
The publisher is giving away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Rafflecoptter form at the end of the post
My rating for Napoleon: A Life — 5
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Thoughts:
Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts is an interesting and thought provoking biography of this unique man. Mr. Roberts has gotten a hold of more than 33,000 private letters which were recently released and, as any fresh material does, caused historians to analyze and reflect upon the subject.
The author’s astute understanding of the material has provided the book with a fresh take on a man that so much has been written about. Mr. Robert’s understanding of the times and personalities helped him convey that information in a clear, concise manner which kept this book relatively short (considering Napoleon’s notoriety and achievements).
This book does not treat Napoleon as a hero or a villain, instead it tries to undo myths and tales concerned with its subject (on the first few pages I learned that Napoleon wasn’t short, but actually a bit taller than the average Frenchman), nor does it put him on a pedestal. Mr. Roberts treats his subject as a person worthy of studying, a multi-layered persona who was a great military leader, as well as a patron of the arts, an extraordinary tactician, and a more then capable administrator and manager.
The most fascinating aspect of the book, for me, was Napoleon’s personality and psyche. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica he always knew he wasn’t French and spoke French with an accent. Napoleon was deeply hurt when he found out Josephine had cheated on him, but later had no problems taking on over 20 mistresses. It was amazing to read how much different General Bonaparte was from Napoleon the politician, if I didn’t know better I could have mistaken them for two different people, this is a point which the author brings forth several times.
The book is a well researched biography which reassesses this famous man which is easy to read and includes many photos and maps for the reader to follow along with the narrative.
Buy this book from in paper or electronic format*
Giveaway
Giveaway ends: December 02, 2014
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Winners will have 24 hours to write back with their address, otherwise an alternate winner will be picked
Congratulations: jandeplus3@
Zohar — Man of la Book
Disclaimer:I got this book for free.
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