Books on general overview of Napoleon Bonaparte?

[Shc]

I'm mainly interested in the military history of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Would anyone have any good recommendations for a good book.
I know very little about Napoleon apart from wikipedia and would like to read a good book to get initiated in Napoleon's world.

Many thanks for the recommendation.

[WalterS]

I'd start with The Campaigns of Napoleon by British historian David Chandler. First published in the early 1970's, it is essential reading for an understanding of Napoleon's military career. The only downside, in my view, is Chandler's obvious pro-British bias. Nevertheless, an outstanding work.

F. Lorraine Petre' was a British officer who served in India in the late 19th century. After retirement he took a tour of Europe and set out to write a series of books about Napoleon's campaigns against his Continental foes because he, Petre', believed that the then currently available works on the era focused primarily on the Peninsular Campaign and Waterloo, ignoring most of Napoleonic history. In the first decade of the 20th Century Petre' produced five excellent works, complete with battle maps in exhaustive detail.

Those 5 books are: Napoleon's Campaign in Prussia 1806; Napoleon's Campaign in Poland, 1806-07; Napoleon and the Archduke Charles, A History of the Danube Valley Campaign, 1809; Napoleon's Last Campaign in Germany, 1813 ; and Napoleon at Bay, 1814.

These books can still be found on Amazon and other places. In the mid 1970's they were re- released ( I forget what occasion, perhaps the 70th anniversary of initial publication) and a college friend and I invested in all 5 books, which we jointly still own.
Petre's narrative is excellent, his eye for detail uncanny. He drew most of the maps in the books himself. His account of the titanic Battle of Leipzig reads like a war novel. If you can find any or all of these works, get them.

[R.M. Schultz]

Mt two favorite books on Napoleon:

• Napoleon's Marshals by R. F. Delderfield

• Swords Around A Throne by John R. Elting

[Graham B]

I like the Napoleon 101 podcast. It's free and was available (may still be) on ITunes. Otherwise, you'll find is easily on the web. Many hours of listening and nice to listen to on morning walks.

[Galahad]

--Chandler's Campaigns of Napoleon is THE book to read if you can read only one. But there are a number of other excellent ones covering his military career.

--Start with Colonel Trevor Dupuy's Military Life of Napoleon, one of a series on great captains written for teenagers, and an excellent introduction to Napoleon's battles and campaigns.

--Correlli Barnett's Napoleon, an interesting look at Napoleon by one of the best military historians of the 20th Century.

--General Sir James Marshall-Cornwall's Napoleon as Military Commander is a good overview of Napoleon as a commander--an excellent analysis.

--General Count Yorck von Wartenburg's 2 volume Napoleon as a General is an excellent work that was used as a text book for many years at West Point (along with its accompanying atlas).

--Colonel Theodore A. Dodge's 4 volume Napoleon, part of his Great Captains series. It's not only a military biography, it's a history of the art of war from the French Revolution till the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

--Henry Lachouque's Napoleon's Battles.

--Lastly, Brigadier General Vincent Esposito's A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars.

--Some may be hard to find, and pricey if you want copies, but each is a rewarding read on the subject of Napoleon's military career.

[HistoryLover1]

I downloaded ‘Napoleon in Love’ by R L Delderfield last night. So far, it’s a bit of a different approach towards the Napoleon narrative. The book focuses on the women in his life and how they fit into a career of military campaigns. I tend to read military accounts of his battles, but this was a welcome surprise. It’s a really interesting narrative, I would definitely recommend it if you would like to learn more about the personal life of Napoleon. Also, the eBook was free when I got it – a nice bonus! This is the blurb from Amazon. ..

In the summer of 1786, Napoleon met the first of the many beautiful women that would accompany him in his rise to power and fame.

He lived and died a romantic, moving from mistress to mistress in search of the ideal mate.

To the majority he was kind, generous and thoughtful, and their tears moved him to a frenzy of tenderness.

Why, then, did the Emperor who could inspire his soldiers to die with his name on their lips fail to inspire an equal devotion in the hearts of the women so eager for his love?

From penniless artillery man to the height of his power to his exile on St Helena, RL Delderfield explores the women who accompanied Napoleon’s rise and fall.

'Napoleon in Love' is the fascinating story of the personal life of one of Europe's most charismatic historical figures.

Praise for R F Delderfield:

“Impressive…vivid, shrewd…This book is stamped with spirit and authority” – Daily Telegraph

“Delderfield writes with gusto, enriching his narrative with innumerable citations from the memoirs and documents of the period and shrewd observations on the characters” – Boston Globe

“He has his intricate material beautifully in hand, and he writes with grace and conviction” – Library Journal

“It is always a pleasure to read R F Delderfield, because he never seems to be ashamed of writing well” – Books and Bookmen

“[Delderfield is] a skilled journalist, a raconteur, and a good storyteller” – Choice

[South]

Good morning Shc,

For a premier indirect general overview of Napoleon with a military focus;

My recommendation is "The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812" (2 vols,1892) by Admiral Alfred T. Mahan, USN.

Napoleon challenged the ruler of the waves and the generated naval construction races lasted until the end of the 20th century.


Warm regards,

Bob