Napoleon: Man of War, Man of Peace

by Timothy Wilson-Smith

Napoleon may have caused more men's deaths than any martial leader before him. Indeed, "the paths of glory Napoleon trod," biographer Timothy Wilson-Smith estimates in his introduction, "led possibly one million Frenchmen, and maybe as many as four million men from other lands, to their graves." Napoleon's peacetime accomplishments, however, have long survived the massive military sacrifice. Numerous societies and learned institutions that he created preserve his name and fame to this day. Museum collections attest to his passion for the arts. His Code Napoleon continues to thrive, and some credit him with a vision for a united Europe that the European Union has finally achieved. Both these Napoleons—the military genius and the social visionary—are fully covered in this new biography, which surveys in vivid, sometimes harrowing detail Napoleon's liberation of the continent from the old social order and chronicles the chaos that accompanied it through almost twenty years of warfare. It shows that the men who eventually brought Napoleon down—chief among them the inveterately conservative Castlereagh and Metternich—failed to grasp Napoleon's most remarkable gift: his ability not only to erect cultural monuments but also to effect significant social change that would long outlive his own defeat and downfall.

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mohamed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Napoleon book so I pretty much knew very little about his campaigns.

The author interestingly splits the book into two sections; Man of War & Man of Peace. The former detailing Napoleon's rise to power and his military campaigns in Italy, Egypt, Germany and Russia. The latter deals with the administration of the French state (and occupied Europe) under Napoleon, including the introduction of the Napoleon Code, the reform of the education & church in the country.

The reason why I give this a 4/5 is because the author simply assumes you've heard of everyone Napoleonic before. In most cases, these seemingly random French names are added that leave you puzzling over who they are and it is easy to get lost (so-to-speak). Another complaint I have is the lack of maps; how can someone appreciate tactical genius without battle plans or campaign maps? To people with an underappreciation of geography, this book would be difficult to follow.

What is unique about the book is that the author (Timothy Wilson-Smith) elaborates on Napoleon's artists. Each chapter almost always prefaces with a famous painting of Napoleon by decorated French artists such as David, Boilly etc. It's quite an unexpected but charming art history lesson so if you like art, you'd appreciate it.

All in all, this book does what it says. It gives you an account of Napoleon's life, from his humble Corscican background to the exile & gardening on the isolated island of St. Helena. It could be better, granted, but it does the job well.