One final irony: The French emperor, who had successfully escaped death time and again from Prussian, Russian, British, Austrian, German, Italian, and Spanish artillery, muskets, swords, and bayonets, had been killed by his closest chosen companion - a Frenchman.
The more I read this biography, the more I feel I'm missing out. Lots of battles, court intrigues, and the central vanity of essentially a megalomaniac. It just feels as if I'm getting shut out of the humanity of the immediate, and the sweep of the grand view. Not saying Schom is necessarily wrong, but so much time is spent accentuating Napoleon's costly yet unquenchable thirst for conquest. It simply doesn't make for a balanced meal by itself.
"... Nothing so annihilates the present as that which kills the future." - Pierre François Réal, on Napoleon's propensity to sabotage potential for real change in France due to his wars of conquest.
Great princes can commit great crimes - it is expected of them.
(from Chapter 15, "The Foreign Minister")
It's a fascinating read so far. The egos, the machinations, the lies, the wars, the money, the power, and at the center of it all is the "Emperor" himself. It has been a while since I've read a biography. The only thing I am finding irritating - almost tiresome - is the frequent editorial jabs against Napoleon. I would agree with the author; I just wish he'd let the primary sources speak more for themselves. Have you experienced this?
panI skim-read most of this book as it's very slow.
2 ⭐
Using it for #sthelena #ReadingAfrica2022 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB (would also work for #egypt - & you wouldn't have to complete the book to get there😂).
Also #pop22 #titlebeginswithletterofpreviousread @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @Kalalalatja @Laughterhp @Megabooks @KarenUK @squirrelbrain @RaeLovesToRead
Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life | 
