Napoleon's Memoirs

by Napoléon Bonaparte

The two volumes constitute the best version of Napoleon's autobiography, which he partially finished while in exile on St. Helena. The account covers his entire life up to the loss at Waterloo. It contains detailed acounts of all the campaigns and their great battles starting with the beginning of his career in Toulon and continuing on through Waterloo, which occupies the entire second volume. The editor, Somerset De Chair, organized Napoleon's random dictated memoirs into an historically useful sequence.

Genres: History, Biography

503 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1945

About the author

Napoleon I, originally Napoleon Bonaparte and known as "the Little Corporal," a brilliant strategist, overthrew the directory in 1799 and was proclaimed first consul and later Emperor of the French and king of Italy from 1804. His military and political might gripped Continental Europe, but after a disastrous campaign in Russia in winter 1812, he was forced to abdicate in 1814. Exiled to the island of Elba, he escaped and briefly regained power before ultimately being defeated at Waterloo in 1815. He was then exiled to Saint Helena, where he died of cancer in 1821.

Trained in mainland as an artillery officer, he rose to prominence as a general of the revolution and led several successes against the arrayed coalitions. In late 1799, Napoleon staged a coup d'état and installed for five years. In the decade of the 19th century, he turned the armies and dominated almost everyone through extensive alliance systems and a lengthy streak of major victories, epitomized through battles, such as Austerlitz and Friedland. He appointed close friends and several members of his family as monarchs and important government figures of dominated states.

Napoleon developed relatively few innovations, although virtually all large modern armies accept his doctrines that placed artillery into batteries and elevated the corps as the standard unit. From a variety of sources, he drew his best tactics, and he scored several major victories with a modernized army. Academies over the world study this widely regarded greatest commander of history. Aside from achievements, people also remember Napoleon for the establishment that laid the bureaucratic foundations for the modern state.

Reviews

[Misha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really does not cover his entire life, most importantly it skips everything from Marengo to Waterloo which is what I most wanted to read about, his actual reign and thinking on the running of a nation.

The writing style is also not particularly compelling although it’s interesting to see what Napoleon focuses on and some of his opinions and what he remembers as standing out. But it has tons of logistical and military details that are tedious to the non-generals among us.