Napoleon by Paul Johnson (English) Paperback Book

Description: Napoleon by Paul Johnson A biography which deconstructs the Napoleonic myth and reveals the grim reality of his rule FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Written with great wit and panache, this biography also has a serious purpose: to make us face up to the moral bankruptcy of Napoleons dictatorship. Johnson tells the whole story: his astonishing gift for figures and calculation, his mastery of cannon; his audacious, hyperactive and aggressive generalship and his simple battle tactics; his complete control of propaganda and the success of the cultural presentation of the Empire; the Code Napoleon; his failure as an international statesman, as Europe grew to hate him; his marshals and ministers; his wives, mistresses, personal style and working methods; the British blockade and the Continental System; the mistakes in Spain and Russia. The escape from Elba, the events leading up to Waterloo and the battle itself, which gets a full treatment, is particularly riveting. Notes Concise biography written with wit and purpose of one of historys most studied figures. Deciphers Napoleons aggresive character and explores his volatile personal and public relationships. "A thoughtful and incisive essay" The Independent Author Biography Born in 1928, Paul Johnson has written over 30 books and is one of Britains leading historians. His book Modern Times has been translated into 15 languages. A former editor of the New Statesman, he is a frequent contributor to newspapers throughout the world. Review It is lucidly written, and enlivened by personal details and well-chosen quotations -- William Doyle * TLS *Written with his customary verve and certainty -- Andrew Roberts * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *Thoughtful and incisive * INDEPENDENT * Promotional Paul Johnson is one of Britains leading historians and a well-known and provocative journalist As well as his weekly column for the Spectator, Paul Johnson is also a frequent contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail and newspapers around the world An unusual perspective: Napoleon the war criminal, the creator of the graveyard of Europe Written with his customary verve and certainty Andrew Roberts, Sunday Telegraph A thoughtful and incisive essay Frank McLynn, Independent It is lucidly written, and enlivened by personal details and well-chosen quotations William Doyle, TLS Kirkus US Review The glory of France and the erstwhile Whig hero comes up short in this biography by a historian of decidedly Tory bent. It seems a rarity these days to find a biography of Napoleon that does not glorify the Corsican revolutionary. Johnson (The Renaissance, 2000, etc.) surely does not. Instead, he writes, the defeat of Napoleon and the subsequent Congress of Vienna are to be counted among the great accomplishments of modern history, ushering in an era of peace that would not end for nearly a century with the outbreak of WWI-when, he asserts, the modern cult of Napoleon began. Had Napoleon committed his campaigns of conquest today, Johnson further asserts, he "would have been obliged to face a war crimes tribunal, with an inevitable verdict of guilty and a sentence of death or life imprisonment." Reckoning that Napoleons dream of empire cost four or five million lives and incalculable destruction of property, Johnson lays at his door blame for a number of sins, including the "deification of force and war, the all-powerful centralized state, the use of cultural propaganda to apotheosize the autocrat, the marshaling of entire peoples in the pursuit of personal and ideological power." In brief, Johnson charges, Napoleon was less a liberator of Europe than a dictator of the sort that would follow in the century afterward-a Hitler or Mussolini for his day. The author recognizes Napoleons talents as a commander and bravery-throughout his career, he reckons, Napoleon had 19 horses shot out from under him in battle-but still has little use for the fellow, unlike more enthusiastic recent biographers such as Frank McLynn (see below) and Robert Asprey. Despite an evident distaste for his subject, Johnsons sharp-edged view of Napoleon is well supported, and well worth considering. (Kirkus Reviews) Long Description Written with great wit and panache, this biography also has a serious purpose: to make us face up to the moral bankruptcy of Napoleons dictatorship. Johnson tells the whole story: his astonishing gift for figures and calculation, his mastery of cannon; his audacious, hyperactive and aggressive generalship and his simple battle tactics; his complete control of propaganda and the success of the cultural presentation of the Empire; the Code Napoleon; his failure as an international statesman, as Europe grew to hate him; his marshals and ministers; his wives, mistresses, personal style and working methods; the British blockade and the Continental System; the mistakes in Spain and Russia. The escape from Elba, the events leading up to Waterloo and the battle itself, which gets a full treatment, is particularly riveting. Review Quote It is lucidly written, and enlivened by personal details and well-chosen quotations Promotional "Headline" A short and vivid biography, which deconstructs the Napoleonic myth and reveals the reality of his rule. Description for Sales People Paul Johnson is one of Britains leading historians and a well-known and provocative journalist As well as his weekly column for the Spectator, Paul Johnson is also a frequent contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail and newspapers around the world An unusual perspective: Napoleon the war criminal, the creator of the graveyard of Europe Details ISBN1842126504 Author Paul Johnson Pages 224 Publisher Orion Publishing Co Year 2003 ISBN-10 1842126504 ISBN-13 9781842126509 Format Paperback Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom DEWEY 944.05092 Birth 1928 Media Book Series Lives Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson Publication Date 2003-08-07 Language English UK Release Date 2003-08-07 Audience General NZ Release Date 2003-10-31 AU Release Date 2003-10-31 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. 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