Napoleon

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to Napoleon
Review: As Johnson himself observes, "Bonaparte has had more books written about him than any other individual, with the sole exception of Jesus Christ."

So why another one?

I think this book is unlikely to be read by hardcore Bonaparte students; it is short, with only a thin bibliographical essay and no footnotes. It never quotes from original sources.

Instead, this is an introduction to Napoleon for the general reader. It's brisk, well-written and easy to read. It draws a very human picture of a flawed man of tremendous consequence, and lays out what some of those consequences have been: the reshaping of European geography, the Code Napoleon and the rise of the totalitarian state.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Primer or Refresher
Review: As Paul Johnson reminds us very early on in this enjoyable biography of Napoleon, there have been thousands of biographies written on the storied Emperor. There are still some controversies and historical mysteries, but a lot is known of the Emperor of France. Obviously Johnson can't write one of his trademark and classic volumes, but he suceeds rather brilliantly in this short biography.

Johnson concentrates on the most important stages of Bonapartes life, his ascension to the throne, his decade of war all across Europe, and his rapid decline. Johnson peppers the brief volume with illuminating insights into various other personalities of the time, along with the various cultural and political aspects of Napoleon's empire.

If you're looking for a quick but engaging read concerning a fascinating historical figure, this is a very good place to go.

Rating:
Summary: The Napoleon Complex in 186 Pages
Review: Based on Johnson's biography, Napoleon justly owns the phrase "Napoloeon Complex." Other reviewers of this book rush to Napoleon's defense and attack Johnson for his one-sided attack of the Emperor. Some of this disparagement may be justly deserved. But in the end, Johnson pins a loss of life of unimaginable proportions on Napoleon and accuses him of staging a dress rehearsal for the 20th century totalitarian state. This story is hard to refute. What tipped the scale for me against Napoleon was his passion for building an enormous library but reading few of the volumes in it.
I'm going to move on and read Carlyles's history of the French Revolution. I appreciated this terse volume as it has given me impetus to read more, from other viewpoints.

Rating:
Summary: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely
Review: By his dynamic personality and will, Napoleon Bonaparte became the most important and significant person of the 19th Century. Paul Johnson's brilliant and concise character study of Bonaparte destroys the pedantic notion that history is shaped by nebulous social forces. History is made by individuals, and no person impacted his time more than Napoleon did his era. He is the very embodiment of the great British libertarian historian Lord Acton's dictum -- "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Rating:
Summary: A Bit of Napoleon
Review: First, it need be mentioned about that no 200 page biography of Napoleon will be thorough. Moving past that obvious fact, Paul Johnson does a more than adequate job of telling Napoleon's story.

Johnson takes a largely sympathetic view of Napoleon's life. His unlikely rise to power shows a boy who was not born a subject of the French monarchy. Only when the island of Corsica was purchased by France did he become French. It was through his skill in the revolution as military strategist that Bonaparte gained notoriety. His popularity grew to a such a level that the people demanded him as a ruler thinking his success would transfer to stabilizing the country and its economy. Thus, he was given the name to be applied to future emperors, Napoleon. Rather than focusing on strategies for fixing France as its leader, he sought to liberate the other countries of Europe from oppression in the same way France was now liberated. The early chapters of the book are a little hard to follow. The author makes the assumption that the reader has knowledge that he is not likely to have.

Napoleon was able to conquer most of Europe. He was a careful planner, always sought to fight an offensive war, and believed in the power of intimidation. His refusal to fight a defensive war at Waterloo spelled his demise and banishment.

The author is thorough enough to mention some of the more personal facts of Napoleon's life. He had a very active libido. While the drive was active, he wanted to get it over quick. He wanted to do anything he could quickly including eating or sleeping. Napoleon had little patience for a time consuming activity like reading.

While the book is vague and hard to follow at the beginning, it finishes in solid fashion. Since most people will not have the patience to read the 800 page biographies of Napoleon, they will seek shorter versions. This book is more than adequate in the standards of a condensed biography.

Rating:
Summary: Provocate and interesting look at the Corsican general
Review: Heard the taped version of NAPOLEON by historian Paul
Johnson . . . though short (186 pages), it is both provocative
and interesting . . . the author does not present a very favorable viewpoint of the Corsican general . . . he contends that Napoleon was motivated by opportunism alone, and 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 . . . Napoleon's love life is also examined in not very flattering terms . . . however, what I'll remember most about listening is the fact that in the whole history of negotiations, Napoleon should be remembered as
perhaps the worst guy ever at a table . . . because of him
we were able to purchase the Louisiana Territory from
the France for $15 million, immediately doubling America
in size and making it one of the largest nations of the
world . . . the sale included over 600 million acres at
a cost of less than 3 cents an acre in what today is
the better part of 13 states between the Mississippi River and
the Rocky Mountains!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: I enjoyed this fast moving and provocative book, which many who are familiar with Bonaparte evidently find controversial. Here is Johnson's summation: "The great evils of Bonapartism-the deification of force and war, the all-powerful centralized state, the use of cultural propaganda to apotheosize the autocrat, the marshaling of entire peoples in the pursuit of personal and ideological power-came to hateful maturity only in the twentieth century, which will go down in history as the Age of Infamy. It is well to remember the truth about the man whose example gave rise to it all." An excellent little book.

Rating:
Summary: An Introduction to one of the biggest names...
Review: I have never before read a book on Napolean. I knew almost nothing about the man before cracking the spine on this one. His was a name I've known since very early childhood but I've always been embarassed by my complete lack of knowledge of this ubiquitous figure. Since time is an issue, I've never been able to delve into the many thick books that abound on Napolean in most book stores. Then I saw this book. It's small, it's concise, and it's incredibly readable. Not to mention that I had read some books in the Penguin Lives series and loved them. This book left the store with me on first glance, and was digested in a few days of free time.

For the Napolean neophyte this book will introduce you to the basics: his origins, his rise through the ranks of the army, what he did during the French Revolution, how he became emporer, Josephine (there were some surprises here!), his exiles, Waterloo, and what came after his final exile (for both Napolean and for France). It's a quick tour and the book probably needs more than one reading to catch everything. You will get a sense of what Napolean did and why his name is everywhere, particularly in the history of Europe.

The book does take the stance that Napolean was an immoral monster: a conqueror of the worst sort, a self-important dictator who abandoned his men on the battlefield and fit himself and his beliefs to the situtation that would bring him the most power.

Whether this is true or not (the author does make a convincing case) this book probably isn't enough by itself to make an overall moral judgment on Napolean. Nonetheless, it makes a great introduction to a vast subject. If you know nothing about Napolean, pick this one up.

Rating:
Summary: Napeleon as the opportunist.
Review: I have read some other books about Napeleon, but this one by Johnson was by far the most negative. In this book, Napeleon is called a number of things such as antichrist, a tin horn dictator, a totalitarian dicatator, the sponsor of the first police state. I am not sure these all could apply to Napeleon. However I agree with one assessment and that is Bonaparte was indeed an opportunist.
Anyone reading this book will find that historical aspects of this major figure are little written about. What is written about is how Napoleon rose from a minor officer in the artillery to Emperor of France and controller of Europe. All the negatives of the French regime are written about and few of the positives are emphasized. I was astounded to see how Johnson equated Napeleon's regime to cardboard. I don't think I would make that assessment.
It is apparent Johnson does not regard Napeleon in high regard. A much more balanced account may have swayed me to some of Johnson's points of view, but there is none in this book. An easy read, but don't believe everything.

Rating:
Summary: You can never judge a book by its cover.
Review: I learned this the hard way.
The hard cover's exterior is impressive and when you read Paul Johnson's quote at the back, you get the feeling that the author is writing about a subject he was tremendously impressed with. Read the book and it seems like Wellington's own secretary decided to spare a few words on Europe's greatest conqueror.
A defining tragedy in a book lovers life is falling for an expensive hardcover on a very good subject and finding out that the book is absolutely pathetic. Even if i wanted to resell it, i would be cheating the person up front if i asked for more than a buck on this book!