Napoleon: Rise of an Empire (The True Story of Napoleon Bonaparte)

by Alexander Kennedy

The most polarizing man of his era, Napoleon Bonaparte has remained a source of controversy ever since. Did his dictatorship crush the French Revolution, or carry its ideals to their logical conclusion? Was he a conqueror-tyrant who sought war for the sake of glory, or was he forced into conflict to defend his beloved France? Was he a throwback to sixteenth-century “absolute monarchs,” or the great modernizer of nineteenth-century Europe? Or was he all of these things at once? In this compact, highly readable biography, Alexander Kennedy examines these questions and more. He traces Napoleon’s history back to the bloody hillsides of Corsica, from his rise as a young artillery officer to the summit of greatness. We see at how Napoleon’s rule forever changed a continent, but also how his overreach led to his shocking fall from power. To understand the story of Napoleon, Hughes persuasively shows, is to understand Europe itself—both in Napoleon’s era and today. "If you want a thing done well, do it yourself." - Napoleon Bonaparte Buy Now to Napoleon’s tactics at Austerlitz, Waterloo, and other crucial battles.How the French conquest of Corsica shaped Napoleon’s childhood.Napoleon’s troubled marriage to the faithless Josephine.The French invasion of Egypt and discovery of the Rosetta Stone.The sale of Louisiana to the United States.Napoleon’s 1814 suicide attempt.The daring escape from Elba that allowed Napoleon to make his final stand. Buy Now and Read The True Story of Napoleon Bonaparte...

Genres: Biography

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 31, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short easy read about Napoleon.

[Tom Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best parts of this book, aside from the thorough and detailed research, are the chapter summaries at the beginning and the headline summaries throughout the book. This is a gifted idea: you can zoom-in on a topic you want, or just go chapter-by-chapter. The life of Napoleon WAS history itself. One of the direct quotes, “I am the revolution”, made when Napoleon was a mere 29 yrs old, says pages about France and this self-crowned monarch. If you want a shorter, more logical outline of the life and times of Napoleon, or Bonaparte, as he wanted to be called, this is the read for you!

[Almaz Ayalew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book showed me that a person can win situation but not death.

I read this book just for the knowledge of history. Even though I don’t recommend the book to any body I liked the way the book is written

[Ahmed Bawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and unputdownable

Enjoyed reading this book. It gave me general overview of Napoleon and his reign in clear context, superbly summarized highlighting major events and outcomes of that particulAr period in European history.

[Kico Meirelles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and straightforward biography about a controversial, but essential figure of our history.

[Issac Solomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

A very concise and interesting summary of Napoleon's life. Instead of dragging on for hundreds of pages, the author gives us the unbiased history in less than 100 pages.

[dianne beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read

Napoleon in a very readable and understandable way. Takes a complex time and simplifies it quite well. I will think about having my students read this!

[Basharat Tamboli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short book

Short book to know the man in a nutshell.
Good description of wars in imaginable manner .
Good for beginners.

[Hunter Q Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book.