| View Larger Image | The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte | Paperbackby Robert Asprey (Author)
| List Price: | $26.95 | | Price: | $20.48 | | You Save: | $6.47 (24%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Basic Books | | Page Count: | 604 Pages | | Publication Date: | October 01, 2001 | | Sales Rank: | 79,564th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Robert Asprey charts Napoleon's thrilling, reckless rise to power in this fast-paced first volume of the definitive biography of the fascinating, enigmatic, and still mysterious tragic conqueror. Ever since 1821, when he died at age fifty-one on the forlorn and windswept island of St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte has been remembered as either demi-god or devil incarnate. In The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the first volume of a two-volume cradle-to-grave biography, Robert Asprey instead treats him as a human being. Asprey tells this fascinating, tragic tale in lush narrative detail. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte is an exciting, reckless thrill ride as Asprey charts Napoleon's vertiginous ascent to fame and the height of power. Here is Napoleon as he was-not saint, not sinner, but a man dedicated to and ultimately devoured by his vision of himself, his empire, and his world. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 33 reviews)
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The Rise, and Reign, of Napoleon Bonaparte by Jerry from B'ville (Belleville, MI)  4 Stars
August 22, 2009
I bought the two volumes to help fill in my knowledge of the 19th Century in Europe. I had recently completed a book about the French Revolution, and thought a book about Napoleon might be a good next step.
Asprey's two volumes are very good. I was pleased with the detail (there are about 1,000 pages for the two volumes), although I sometimes got lost a bit with the places and people names.
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Pretty good, a little heavy by Rebekah Beauchemin (Hohenfels, Germany) 4 Stars
June 18, 2009
I like this book, although it's a little dry and reads like a list of events rather than a flowing biography. Sometimes emotions and thoughts seem to be interjected where there would be no way for the author to know such a thing, but they fit the text well and it's hard to fault that. I enjoyed the clear writing style and the references are well documented; this book must have taken a long time to write. Overall, a good read if you're interested in Napolean enough, but not something to pick up for light reading.
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A good beginners biography of Napoleon by Dick Marti (Georgia, USA) 4 Stars
February 25, 2009
This biography of Napoleon Bonaparte begins with Napoleon's birth in Corsica in 1769 and follows his career thru the battle of Austerlitz in December 1805. The book is divided into 48 short and succinct chapters covering events within a stated time span. I read this book because I was not very familiar with Napoleon's career, particularly his early years and rise to power. The title promised what the book delivered. This is by no means a comprehensive account of Napoleon's life---probably no single work can cover that adequately. But if a 580 page book can be called a "quick overview" of its subject, then this is it. The only drawback was a shortage of maps showing military movements, or at least the positions of the combatants. Even so, this was a book that fulfilled its purpose for me.
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Unworthy of its subject by Todd Stockslager (Raleigh, NC)  2 Stars
May 03, 2008
Perhaps my letdown by this book was inevitable coming as it did immediately after my reading of Doris Kearns Goodwin's demythification of Lincoln's human leadership power (see my review of Team of Rivals). Neither subject nor author could measure up here.
In any case, this "battlefield biography" never really tells who Napoleon was, but what he did on the field of battle, and that with an over-reliance on secondary sources and unsupported generalizations and opinions.
This book was followed by "The Fall of Napoleon Bonaparte" by the author, but not by me.
The most enlightening part of the book was the statement Napoleon purportedly made at his coronation as Emperor of France, leaning over to his brother and whispering: "If only our father could see us now." That one quote tells more of the personality and motivation then hundreds of pages of battlefield maneuvering. Here was not a monster or maniac, or even a masterful monarch, doing great things on a great stage, here was a young man with verve and vigor emulating and now far exceeding his father, and wishing for his approval and adoration.
Skip this one.
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The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte is a good review of his life from Birth in 1769 to the batlle of Austerlitz in 1805 by C. M Mills (Knoxville Tennessee)  5 Stars
September 17, 2007
Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsican obscurity in 1769. He was involved in patriotic struggle in Corsica; studied at a French military school and won his fame during the French Revolution. Napoleon has had millions upon millions of words and thousands of books written upon his fabled career. In his life he became emperor of the French; fought the major powers of the nineteenth century such as Britain, Austria, Prussia, Austria and Russia; wed and divorced Josephine; married Maria Louise of Austria; lost at Waterloo and died in exile on the island of St. Helena.
Robert Asprey is an American historian who has authored several books of military history. This book is the first volume in a brisk two volume work. Asprey has a plain style; briefly covers major battles such as
the Battle of the Nile, Maregno and Austerlitz and delves into the love life and mecurial character of the little corporal who was the cynosure of so much adulation and hatred in the nineteenth century world.
Asprey does not go into excessive detail in describing military actions and his maps are few and far between. His coverage of diplomacy is not filled with details but does give the general reader an idea of the issues involved. If you seek a more scholarly and detailed look at the battles pick up the hefty tome "The Campaigns of Napoleon" by the eminent David Chandler; if you want more of the life of the average soldier in the French army turn to John Elting and if you want all the sexy intrigue of the Napoleonic court turn to Evangeline Bruce.
If, however, you are a student or a neophyte to Napoleonic study this fine general biography will be a good place to begin study of the Napoleon era.
Asprey is balanced in his portrait of Napoleon who was neither saint nor sinner but a tough, brilliant battlefield commander who worshipped at the shrine of power and egomania.I recommend this book and the second volume "The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte." Good reading!
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