Napoleon Bonaparte

Variously portrayed as a megalomaniacal ogre intent on sacrificing millions of people to his own ambition, as a power-hungry conqueror, and as a military genius, Napoleon Bonaparte was far too complex a man to be reduced to any single one of these characterizations. Drawn from Napoleon's own correspondence and an in-depth knowledge of history, this masterful biography is filled with psychological insight and everyday details.

Tracing Napoleon's life from his school days to his last years, Thompson introduces us to a man of a man who kept copious notes on Plato and the classicists, who kept painstaking track of British possessions around the world, and who insisted on preserving the pretensions of empire even amidst the ignominy of exile. Divided into chapters that cover Napoleon's conquest of Europe country by country, this balanced study portrays a man of great genius whose superior mind ultimately fell prey to his colossal egotism. The elegance and universality of Thompson's writing make this work immediately appealing to the general reader who wants to see the totality of Napoleon's achievements.