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One Hundred Days: Napoleon's Road to Waterloo
On February 26, 1815, Napoleon, exiled Emperor of France--now dressed in a simple green uniform as Colonel of the Grenadiers--stepped aboard the brig L'Inconstant to the wildly enthusiastic cheers of his Elban subjects. Three days later, having barely avoided a British warship and a French
naval vessel loyal to the Crown, the L'Inconstant traded the white flag of Elba for the French Tricolor as the rocky coast of the Cap d'Antibes came into view. With his return to French soil, accompanied only by a small force of one thousand men, Napoleon had set into motion the momentous events
that would, over the next one hundred days, propel Europe once again into total war, ending only with the routing at Waterloo of the seemingly invincible Grande Armee, and Napoleon's final exile on St. Helena.
In One Hundred Days , Alan Schom offers us an epic tale of intrigue, high drama, and ultimate tragedy. By turns harrowing and exhilarating--and always charged with an undercurrent of impending doom-- One Hundred Days is nothing less than the definitive account of Napoleon's final campaign,
told with the characteristic panache of one of our premier narrative historians. Landing unopposed near Cannes, Napoleon and his tiny army began their march through a hostile countryside impoverished by years of war, famine, and conscription. But gradually, thanks mainly to the Emperor's legendary
charisma, thousands of men joined his ranks, swelling the force to nearly 20,000 soldiers. By the time these impressive columns reached Paris, Louis XVIII had fled the city and only crowds and parades remained to greet Napoleon's seemingly inevitable return to power. But fate was against him this
the allies, stunned by what appeared to be a remarkable reversal of fortune, were already on the move. All roads now led to Waterloo.
Besides being a lively and detailed look at Napoleon's final months as one of the most feared--and revered--men in Europe, One Hundred Days also offers vivid portraits of the many complex and fascinating personalities who surrounded him. Schom has mined a rich trove of little-known diaries,
memoirs, military dispatches, and letters to allow this diverse cast of characters, whenever possible, to speak for themselves. He brings to life in compelling fashion all of Napoleon's generals, his enemies, his ministers, even the common soldiers who fought in the apocalyptic showdown in Belgium.
And, of course, there is the omnipresent, titanic figure of Napoleon himself, readying the invasion, mustering troops, and, amid the frenzy and confusion of the final battle, coming to the agonizing realization that all was over. "We have taken Napoleon's hat," wrote Metternich to his daughter a
few days after Waterloo, "It is to be hoped that we will now end in capturing the man himself." Within a month, the defeated Emperor was aboard the English frigate Bellerophon bound for exile, and thus dropped, in Marshal Ney's words, "the final curtain of the Napoleonade."
More than an account of one of the formative events in modern European history, this book adds a human dimension to a story that has, over the years, assumed mythic proportions.
naval vessel loyal to the Crown, the L'Inconstant traded the white flag of Elba for the French Tricolor as the rocky coast of the Cap d'Antibes came into view. With his return to French soil, accompanied only by a small force of one thousand men, Napoleon had set into motion the momentous events
that would, over the next one hundred days, propel Europe once again into total war, ending only with the routing at Waterloo of the seemingly invincible Grande Armee, and Napoleon's final exile on St. Helena.
In One Hundred Days , Alan Schom offers us an epic tale of intrigue, high drama, and ultimate tragedy. By turns harrowing and exhilarating--and always charged with an undercurrent of impending doom-- One Hundred Days is nothing less than the definitive account of Napoleon's final campaign,
told with the characteristic panache of one of our premier narrative historians. Landing unopposed near Cannes, Napoleon and his tiny army began their march through a hostile countryside impoverished by years of war, famine, and conscription. But gradually, thanks mainly to the Emperor's legendary
charisma, thousands of men joined his ranks, swelling the force to nearly 20,000 soldiers. By the time these impressive columns reached Paris, Louis XVIII had fled the city and only crowds and parades remained to greet Napoleon's seemingly inevitable return to power. But fate was against him this
the allies, stunned by what appeared to be a remarkable reversal of fortune, were already on the move. All roads now led to Waterloo.
Besides being a lively and detailed look at Napoleon's final months as one of the most feared--and revered--men in Europe, One Hundred Days also offers vivid portraits of the many complex and fascinating personalities who surrounded him. Schom has mined a rich trove of little-known diaries,
memoirs, military dispatches, and letters to allow this diverse cast of characters, whenever possible, to speak for themselves. He brings to life in compelling fashion all of Napoleon's generals, his enemies, his ministers, even the common soldiers who fought in the apocalyptic showdown in Belgium.
And, of course, there is the omnipresent, titanic figure of Napoleon himself, readying the invasion, mustering troops, and, amid the frenzy and confusion of the final battle, coming to the agonizing realization that all was over. "We have taken Napoleon's hat," wrote Metternich to his daughter a
few days after Waterloo, "It is to be hoped that we will now end in capturing the man himself." Within a month, the defeated Emperor was aboard the English frigate Bellerophon bound for exile, and thus dropped, in Marshal Ney's words, "the final curtain of the Napoleonade."
More than an account of one of the formative events in modern European history, this book adds a human dimension to a story that has, over the years, assumed mythic proportions.
398 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 8, 2012
Steer clear of this book. While his venom is amusing, Schom verges on fabrication here. He attempts to assassinate the character of every major figure, except for "St. Arthur," Duke of Wellington. It is apparent this is deliberate; he gets about half-way through building up to his revelation of the evil Davout -- then he realizes that the man is clean. Squeaky. And Schom rapidly retreats from that battlefield. He gets names wrong throughout the book -- there is a huge difference between Frederick Wilhelm III and Frederick III, I assure you! His battle by battle accounts are good, and his prose is fine, but it is such a smear campaign of the Bonaparte family and everyone affiliated with them. Unacceptable, and yet horribly accessible. I have kept my copy in order to keep it from falling into someone else's hands.
July 21, 2018
If Napoleon saved a burning orphanage Schom would claim that he started the fire to be seen saving orphans; if Wellington did the same thing Schom would claim it's proof he's the second coming of Christ. This is how the whole book is, Schom is so anti-Napoleon that it's comical. The only thing Schom does right is give us a good brief biography of all the key players, it provides a great view into who each of the players are, if only they're were not all comically bias too. I'm glad I only paid $1 for the book, I wouldn't pay a cent more.
June 22, 2020
An excellent book to read on Napoleon! While it only covers the 100-120 days from the time he left Elba to the time of his Waterloo defeat, it was an excellent overview of his blunderous demise as an emperor and a military leader. He could have won had it not been for many factors as a leader. He treated people horrendously and others who should not have been placed in certain positions (namely family.) His early conquests created him to be greater than he was and he did not pay attention to changing policies and politics in the allied forces against him. Well done and riveting!
March 5, 2025
Alan Schom provides an account of Napoleon's return from exile in Elba in a way that is enjoyable and very readable. I found that this book was easy to follow (as much as a book about campaign movements by generals can be). My only criticism is that for a book about Waterloo, the amount of time that is actually dedicated to the battle is only around 30 pages of a 400-page book.
In some ways we are able to see that Napoleon's nature meant that Elba was never going to satisfy his desire to be a great man and have a place in history. What the book helps illuminate is what state was France in to allow him to return so easily. We are introduced to Louis the 18th who is shown to be a weak king who represents many of the flaws that had originally led to the downfall of the monarchy in the first place.
Napoleon's return is presented as a confusing time in which, rather than a desire for the return of Bonapartism, there is more of a hunger for change that the people begin to hope that Bonaparte can deliver. However, once he returned to Paris, Napoleon immediately showed a lack of enthusiasm for delivering any kind of constitutional reform other than a weak chamber of representatives that was not empowered to overrule him.
The return of Napoleon could never occur without war, this was a man who had wreaked havoc on Europe's strongest empires for years. And so we see that in returning as emperor, Napoleon doomed thousands to death in a war that he was unlikely to win.
In an attempt to strike an early victory, he marches to try and catch the British and Prussian armies unaware. However, the marshals of France do not perform their best and instead of achieving ambushes that wipe out those armies, he is left to confront Wellington at Waterloo. We see how the British resolve not to break their lines and a fatal mistake by Ney who assumed that the battle was won and rode most of the French cavalry into British squares, ultimately caused the defeat of Napoleon.
It is interesting to think what could have been if Napoleon had been exiled somewhere like America or kept prisoner in one of the countries that he had humiliated so often. Still, Saint Helena was the place that it was felt would prevent him from being a threat.
The book is well written and Schom is excellent and providing background on some of the major players involved in the story is greatly appreciated. My personal dislike of Schom's views is that he presents Napoleon in such a negative side that it is quite hard to understand why anybody would do anything for this man. I also feel that Schom possibly underrates the brilliance of Napoleon but I respect that his efforts are an attempt to rebalance the narrative that seems to have favoured the image of Napoleon.
The book is really more about the return of Napoleon and is less of a focused book on Waterloo but it felt a bit strange to me how rushed that part seemed. However I understand that Schom's focus is more on the context and the politics of what was going on rather than a purely military history overview of the war.
In some ways we are able to see that Napoleon's nature meant that Elba was never going to satisfy his desire to be a great man and have a place in history. What the book helps illuminate is what state was France in to allow him to return so easily. We are introduced to Louis the 18th who is shown to be a weak king who represents many of the flaws that had originally led to the downfall of the monarchy in the first place.
Napoleon's return is presented as a confusing time in which, rather than a desire for the return of Bonapartism, there is more of a hunger for change that the people begin to hope that Bonaparte can deliver. However, once he returned to Paris, Napoleon immediately showed a lack of enthusiasm for delivering any kind of constitutional reform other than a weak chamber of representatives that was not empowered to overrule him.
The return of Napoleon could never occur without war, this was a man who had wreaked havoc on Europe's strongest empires for years. And so we see that in returning as emperor, Napoleon doomed thousands to death in a war that he was unlikely to win.
In an attempt to strike an early victory, he marches to try and catch the British and Prussian armies unaware. However, the marshals of France do not perform their best and instead of achieving ambushes that wipe out those armies, he is left to confront Wellington at Waterloo. We see how the British resolve not to break their lines and a fatal mistake by Ney who assumed that the battle was won and rode most of the French cavalry into British squares, ultimately caused the defeat of Napoleon.
It is interesting to think what could have been if Napoleon had been exiled somewhere like America or kept prisoner in one of the countries that he had humiliated so often. Still, Saint Helena was the place that it was felt would prevent him from being a threat.
The book is well written and Schom is excellent and providing background on some of the major players involved in the story is greatly appreciated. My personal dislike of Schom's views is that he presents Napoleon in such a negative side that it is quite hard to understand why anybody would do anything for this man. I also feel that Schom possibly underrates the brilliance of Napoleon but I respect that his efforts are an attempt to rebalance the narrative that seems to have favoured the image of Napoleon.
The book is really more about the return of Napoleon and is less of a focused book on Waterloo but it felt a bit strange to me how rushed that part seemed. However I understand that Schom's focus is more on the context and the politics of what was going on rather than a purely military history overview of the war.
June 25, 2019
The author hates Napoleon so much it's even funny a litte. He doesn't even pretend to be impartial and objective; not even a single member of the Bonaparte family is spared (quote from the book: "Letizia Bonaparte had suckled a band of brigands and bounders on her venomous milk, pitting every child against the other, inculcating little if any sense of public or private morality, or even family responsibility." Or this one: "There was indeed something monstrous, “hard and cruel” about the man. The genes controlling human sympathy, understanding and compassion were simply missing.") The Duke of Wellington, on the other hand, can do no wrong - whatever faults he had, they were, obviously, at least according to the author, a result of a neglected childhood (quote: "Wellesley was no grand egotist like Napoleon, ... but rather, no doubt, was simply reacting to a childhood bereft of even a minimal amount of love or attention by his parents."). Even Wellington's failed marriage and infidelities was - obviously - all his wife's fault ("Kitty had proven no companion; they shared no common topic of conversation, no mutual interests.", or "The young general found that he could neither confide in nor respect this hysterical woman, and as a result, soon sought the company of other society ladies as well as a foreign command that would put much distance between him and his wife.") - see, all her own fault.
In other respects, the author also enjoys pushing his personal dislikes on the reader: a considerable portion of the book is devoted to biographies of members of the Bonaparte family and Napoleon's marshalls for no other reason, it seems, than to prove what awful people they were, because they get very little action otherwise. No such thing is done for the British or other Allies (we do not read, for example, Blucher's personal life and habits, even thogh they must have been colorful). The entire book seems to be a "Kick a Bonaparte" fest, which does not lend it credibility at all, despite it containing many relevant and interesting information.
So, sadly, a disappointed, for the sole reason of the author being a prejudiced ass.
In other respects, the author also enjoys pushing his personal dislikes on the reader: a considerable portion of the book is devoted to biographies of members of the Bonaparte family and Napoleon's marshalls for no other reason, it seems, than to prove what awful people they were, because they get very little action otherwise. No such thing is done for the British or other Allies (we do not read, for example, Blucher's personal life and habits, even thogh they must have been colorful). The entire book seems to be a "Kick a Bonaparte" fest, which does not lend it credibility at all, despite it containing many relevant and interesting information.
So, sadly, a disappointed, for the sole reason of the author being a prejudiced ass.
November 30, 2025
This one came up as a free e-book, or a cheap one I think, but I didn’t read the fine print: this is the final of a series so it was not perhaps the best place to start. This said, I didn’t realise until after finishing the book that this was the case, however, in hindsight, it was perhaps not the best period of Napoleon’s life.
The book takes up from Napoleon’s escape from Elba to the French mainland and his rapid attempt to secure Paris and the French people on the way. Surprisingly, this was relatively easy, as local Mayor’s etc. gave support to his cause out of either fear of favour. And the central leadership seemed to give in fairly easily also.
Once making Paris, Napoleon re-assembles a government, and the book takes an exhaustive look at each of his key officials, going back over their previous interactions with Napoleon. These back-stories meant that I’d not missed as much as I might have. Without checking, these chapters may have been more than half the length of the book.
Eventually, the final stretch to Waterloo, and Napoleon’s final defeat is mapped out. At some level, Napoleons mad genius is on display and I had the impression his armies had the advantage over the opposing forces, although he had never faced Wellington before. Nor were his officers quite up to the task. The description of the battles illustrates how easily things could go wrong in the days before radio and mobile phones!
A good book, if sometimes overly detailed, but shows Napoleon in decline and perhaps needs to be read alongside his earlier period.
The book takes up from Napoleon’s escape from Elba to the French mainland and his rapid attempt to secure Paris and the French people on the way. Surprisingly, this was relatively easy, as local Mayor’s etc. gave support to his cause out of either fear of favour. And the central leadership seemed to give in fairly easily also.
Once making Paris, Napoleon re-assembles a government, and the book takes an exhaustive look at each of his key officials, going back over their previous interactions with Napoleon. These back-stories meant that I’d not missed as much as I might have. Without checking, these chapters may have been more than half the length of the book.
Eventually, the final stretch to Waterloo, and Napoleon’s final defeat is mapped out. At some level, Napoleons mad genius is on display and I had the impression his armies had the advantage over the opposing forces, although he had never faced Wellington before. Nor were his officers quite up to the task. The description of the battles illustrates how easily things could go wrong in the days before radio and mobile phones!
A good book, if sometimes overly detailed, but shows Napoleon in decline and perhaps needs to be read alongside his earlier period.
January 22, 2022
One Hundred Days is Alan Schom’s count of Napoleon’s last gasp at empire. From Elba’s escape to Waterloo’s debacle Napoleon tried to recreate his past glories. For a brief moment he succeeded in reorganizing an army and imperial government that almost prevailed over the allied forces in Belgium. While Napoleon is credited with military genius it is important to recall the bloody havoc he wreaked on Europe for 15 years and his disastrous campaigns in Egypt, Russia and in 1814 and Waterloo in 1815. A megalomaniac who believed in his own invincibility and sacrificed millions of lives to prove it. History sadly repeats itself.
August 31, 2023
Honestly, I was initially intrigued by the author’s hatred of Napoleon- it’s a nice change from the authors who worship the ground he walks on and justify every little thing he did. But unfortunately this book takes the Napoleon-bashing so far that Louis XVIII and all of monarchical Europe are portrayed as heroes. There is no discussion of the major role that the Allies had in propagating the 15 years of bloodshed, and somehow Talleyrand is a peace-loving hippie?
One thing I will say is that the character studies are pretty interesting, especially those of Carnot, Fouché, and Davout. The Wellington portion got a little ridiculous though.
One thing I will say is that the character studies are pretty interesting, especially those of Carnot, Fouché, and Davout. The Wellington portion got a little ridiculous though.
February 3, 2025
A Decent Account from a Man Who Doesn't Like Napoleon
Alan Schom's book "One Hundred Days," is a decent account Of Napoleon's triumphant return to France, and the events that led to the battle of Waterloo, and to Napoleon's final defeat and exile. What keeps the book from being truly masterful is the writer's bias against Napoleon, whom he seems to criticize at every point , until the end of the book. And his hatred of Napoleon Is evident, So is his love of Wellington. Therefore, while it is a decent book that covers the last 100 days of Napoleoin Empire in good detail, his disdain for the that person in question makes this book difficult to recommend.
Grade: C+
Alan Schom's book "One Hundred Days," is a decent account Of Napoleon's triumphant return to France, and the events that led to the battle of Waterloo, and to Napoleon's final defeat and exile. What keeps the book from being truly masterful is the writer's bias against Napoleon, whom he seems to criticize at every point , until the end of the book. And his hatred of Napoleon Is evident, So is his love of Wellington. Therefore, while it is a decent book that covers the last 100 days of Napoleoin Empire in good detail, his disdain for the that person in question makes this book difficult to recommend.
Grade: C+
October 7, 2025
I wanted to read this book because I wanted to understand how, after arriving from Elba, Napoleon was able to come to power after a couple of days without a drop of blood spilled. Sadly, the book leaves the questions around some myths unanswered. The most interesting part, however, was how l'Empereur could create a war machine in a couple of weeks, by micromanaging, sheer will and constant haranguing of his ministers and marshalls.
The book becomes completely dull and incomprehensible once the armée reaches Quatres-Bras: the lack of maps and organigrams makes the constant stream of text (a chronological account of the facts) simply unreadable.
The book becomes completely dull and incomprehensible once the armée reaches Quatres-Bras: the lack of maps and organigrams makes the constant stream of text (a chronological account of the facts) simply unreadable.
July 14, 2019
Dry and boring
I’m really sorry but the author managed to make one of the most important parts of French history into one of the most dry and uninteresting books I ever read. It’s a crying shame that such an important part of world history should be described with so little interest and emotion.
I’m really sorry but the author managed to make one of the most important parts of French history into one of the most dry and uninteresting books I ever read. It’s a crying shame that such an important part of world history should be described with so little interest and emotion.
July 26, 2021
Very detailed overview of this mad episode in history and different currents (unrest in West, overall dissent to wars etc). Descriptions of key persons (brothers of Napoleon, Fouché, Talleyrand, Carnot, Davout). Schom is pretty critical to most of them, but overall the book seems to use lot of direct sources incl. memoires.
June 16, 2019
Excellent
A great read could have expanded a bit more on the man himself and quite a bit less on the intricacies of the battle, something particularly difficult to describe. All in all a gripping interesting read of a brief but significant moment in Napoleon's life.
A great read could have expanded a bit more on the man himself and quite a bit less on the intricacies of the battle, something particularly difficult to describe. All in all a gripping interesting read of a brief but significant moment in Napoleon's life.
September 24, 2019
Excellent
Extremely well researched, this reads less like a textbook. The author does a great job of explaining some highly technical information in a way that allows the reader to maintain interest. You'll learn much about Napoleon as a man, as well as a soldier.
Extremely well researched, this reads less like a textbook. The author does a great job of explaining some highly technical information in a way that allows the reader to maintain interest. You'll learn much about Napoleon as a man, as well as a soldier.
November 28, 2019
History
I thought the book was good and I learned a lot of information, but like to many history book the author goes off into tangents and discusses another person or event. Although it may be pertinent, it makes it hard to follow.
I thought the book was good and I learned a lot of information, but like to many history book the author goes off into tangents and discusses another person or event. Although it may be pertinent, it makes it hard to follow.
July 22, 2019
If only he listened to his generals
Napoleon kept his country at war for almost two decades. 100,000 men died and triple that number wounded and crippled. All for nothing.
Napoleon kept his country at war for almost two decades. 100,000 men died and triple that number wounded and crippled. All for nothing.
December 22, 2019
Detailed coverage about Napoleon's supporters leading up to Waterloo and good coverage of the battles.
May 2, 2020
Well researched and very entertaining story of this fascinating man.
October 2, 2014
This one you can judge by its cover. I guess I'm kind of starting at the end with Napoleon here; spoiler alert. What I liked about this book is that the author didn't just cover Waterloo - in fact, the entire military campaign makes up maybe a fifth of the book. This leaves the rest to what I really wanted to see, namely
Napoleon's governance of France and to a small extent planning for the future (it's to a small extent as he doesn't seem to have thought much past battling the rest of Europe, and of course he never got the chance after that).
That would make it an easy recommend (for history nerds), but there is one warning I'd issue: Schom stops to drop in biographies of all the major players as we run across them. This is puzzling for two reasons; one, I would assume that most readers had the sense (unlike me) to read other books about Napoleon first instead of starting at the end, and would already have this information. Two, the biographies are largely pointless as most of the characters get so little screen time that their introductory biographies are longer than all the rest of the text featuring them put together. I'd say just skip 'em.
Other than this issue, and probably recommending reading this as a endcap, the bulk of the text covers an area of study that's esoteric enough that this is the only book I've seen covering it; check it out.
Napoleon's governance of France and to a small extent planning for the future (it's to a small extent as he doesn't seem to have thought much past battling the rest of Europe, and of course he never got the chance after that).
That would make it an easy recommend (for history nerds), but there is one warning I'd issue: Schom stops to drop in biographies of all the major players as we run across them. This is puzzling for two reasons; one, I would assume that most readers had the sense (unlike me) to read other books about Napoleon first instead of starting at the end, and would already have this information. Two, the biographies are largely pointless as most of the characters get so little screen time that their introductory biographies are longer than all the rest of the text featuring them put together. I'd say just skip 'em.
Other than this issue, and probably recommending reading this as a endcap, the bulk of the text covers an area of study that's esoteric enough that this is the only book I've seen covering it; check it out.
September 8, 2013
I started this book hoping to read a factual account of Napoleon but instead found it to be very biased against Napoleon, not to mention the dozens of grammar mistakes that kept on popping up. It's personally disappointing to me because I invested so much time and got almost two-thirds of the way through this book before I realized how egregious Schom's errors were in writing this book. Spare yourself the wasted effort and read something else.
December 15, 2022
Though fairly comprehensive, I found that the account needed some serious editing. The whole writing felt rambling, unending, and in desperate need for better punctuation and paragraph structure. The account also felt too comprehensive. The author delved deeply into minor details of the period and of the lives of important people of the story, and I basically found myself skipping through many (rambling, unending) pages. Look elsewhere for more readable accounts of Napoleon's final days.
October 12, 2015
This book is published by Endeavour Press
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews