Alistair Horne is a leading scholar of French history. Here he trains his sights on one of the most compelling figures of the 19th century, Napoleon Bonaparte. Far from a mere dictator, Napoleon was a military, political and social visionary whose legacy can still be felt in France and all over the world. Horne examines the one-time emperor at his most human, from his greatest triumphs to his disastrous failures.
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"Pithy and interesting taster of the Napoleonic epoch. For all its brevity the book is at times surprisingly repetitive but I enjoyed the revealing anecdotes and quotations with which Horne sprinkles his text. He clearly understands and has a great love for his subject matter. "
— Picoroco (4 out of 5 stars)
“Fleet-footed and fast-moving.”
— Publishers Weekly“A delightful book, brimming over with contagious enthusiasm for its subject…Horne writes with all the authority of one who knows his subject inside out, and his mastery of telling detail is admirable.”
— Sunday Times“The perfect read for someone who asks the question: apart from being a great general, what did Napoleon stand for?”
— Guardian" Pithy and interesting taster of the Napoleonic epoch. For all its brevity the book is at times surprisingly repetitive but I enjoyed the revealing anecdotes and quotations with which Horne sprinkles his text. He clearly understands and has a great love for his subject matter. "
— Picoroco, 6/27/2013" This was more about the culture of France during the time of Napoleon, I wanted more history. I also didn't care for the writing style. "
— Eric, 5/24/2012" Not very compellingly written, but contained a great deal of information well organized. Good book for a history buff. "
— Dan, 4/5/2012" maybe if I read instead of heard the book it might have been better. Since I speak no French the untranslated headlines, proverbs, phrases, etc. were very annoying. were they important? I have no idea. "
— Jagad5, 10/19/2011" muy buena experiencia actualizada! "
— Lalo, 5/27/2011" Not very compellingly written, but contained a great deal of information well organized. Good book for a history buff. "
— Dan, 2/19/2011" This was more about the culture of France during the time of Napoleon, I wanted more history. I also didn't care for the writing style. "
— Eric, 8/12/2009Alistair Horne is the author of eighteen books. He is a fellow at St. Antony’s College, Oxford. In 1993 Horne was awarded the French Légion d’Honneur and in 2003 received a knighthood for his work on the history of France.
Paul Hecht’s long career in audiobooks spans dozens of titles and authors as varied as Ray Bradbury and Gore Vidal, Jack Finney and Thomas Mann. He has recorded such books as Bob Dole’s One Soldier’s Story and Alexander McCall Smith’s Portuguese Irregular Verbs and At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances. Hecht’s theater career in New York includes many Broadway and television credits. He has won nine AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations.