Author

Publication

2016 - Oxford University Press, Incorporated

Language

English

Word Count

32,000 words, Guess

Page Count

128 pages

Identifiers

  • ISBN-139780190262716
  • ISBN-100190262710
  • Library of Congress Control Number2015010173
  • OCLC Control Number905600286
  • Better World Books9780190262716
and 1 more

Classifications

  • LCCDC203.B44 2015
  • LCCDC203 .B44 2015

Description

This Very Short Introduction provides a concise, accurate, and lively portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte's character and career, situating him firmly in historical context. David Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility--for both good and ill--that Napoleon represented. By his late twenties, Napoleon was already one of the greatest generals in European history. At thirty, he had become absolute master of Europe's most powerful country. In his early forties, he ruled a European empire more powerful than any since Rome, fighting wars that changed the shape of the continent and brought death to millions. Then everything collapsed, leading him to spend his last years in miserable exile in the South Atlantic. Bell emphasizes the importance of the French Revolution in understanding Napoleon's career. The revolution made possible the unprecedented concentration of political authority that Napoleon accrued, and his success in mobilizing human and material resources. Without the political changes brought about by the revolution, Napoleon could not have fought his wars. Without the wars, he could not have seized and held onto power. Though his virtual dictatorship betrayed the ideals of liberty and equality, his life and career were revolutionary.

Description

Napoleon Bonaparte's astounding life and military genius have captured imaginations for two centuries. Now award-winning historian David A. Bell provides a succinct and elegant portrait, offering an original and lively account of Napoleon's dazzling career and firmly situating him in the historical context of revolutionary France. Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility - for both good and ill - that Napoleon represented. By his late twenties, he was already one of the greatest generals in European history. At thirty, he had become absolute master of Europe's most powerful country. In his early forties, he ruled a European empire mightier than any since Rome, fighting wars that changed the shape of the continent. But his fall was epic as well, leading him to spend his last years in miserable exile in the South Atlantic.

Subjects

Other Editions

  • NapoleonOxford University Press, Incorporated2016

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