Customer Reviews

The Age of Napoleon: A History of European Civilization from 1789 - 1815 (The Story of Civilization, Vol. XI)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Durant's have done an excellent job in capturing the flavor of the era of Napoleon. The book gives you an excellent overview of military, social, religious, philosophic, and moral attitudes of the day. One should keep in mind, however, that the book is an overview and thus does not deal too deeply with any one subject. This should not be seen as a flaw however but a product of the aim of the work, to summarize the conditions during Napoleon's time. The book is easy to read and is written to be understood by the average reader. A definite must have for any French history or Napoleon buff.

In this, the eleventh volume in the critically acclaimed series "The Story of Civilization," Dr. Will and Ariel Durant have compiled a masterly recount of the incredible sequence of events that led Europe out of the Enlightenment and into the Age of Democracy.

The reader is treated to a detailed narration of: The revolution in France. The revolutionary leaders such as Robespierre. Marat. The rise of Napoleon. The fall of Napoleon. The life of Napoleon. The poetry of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron and Shelley. The philosophy of Schelling and Hegel. The music of Beethoven. And much, much more including plates and maps.

Written to stand alone or within the landmark series, the Durants have composed a historical retelling in smooth prose which is easy to read and understand by both professional and layperson alike. In short, this book is for everyone interested in European history. A benchmark in a class of its own, I rate this text at five stars. Wonderful!

Yes, this book presents an Anglo perspective of Napoleon and his time in Europe. Still, the work of the Durans is fantastic as it captures historical elements from sources as diverse as visual arts, philosophy, literature as well as the customs of the time. The work is also rich in research and references, presenting numerous scripts from Napoleon himself and his subordinates.

After reading this book, I was encouraged to buy the whole collection the Durans produced and I am very happy to have done so.

I made it through all eleven volumes of this marvelous work. I have been a fan of history my whole life, but my discovery of the Durant's several decades ago has enriched my enjoyment and understanding of history. Their style of looking not only at major leaders, but also intellectual and cultural achievements has given me a rich source of material to study. I have found that it is worthwhile reading the great works that they describe in this history.

This eleventh volume focuses on Napoleon, who is one of the most dominant personalities in history. The book is subtitled "A History of European Civilization from 1789 to 1815".

The book begins with the French revolution, and is really my first immersion into the details of this event. The next section describes Napoleon's rise through 1811, the time he reached his peak of power and influence. As usual, the Durant's describe not only the man, but also the people in his empire including the progress of arts, science, and literature.

The third section goes back to Britain from 1789 - 1812 and describes in detail what was happening there. Next he describes the rest of Europe during that time and their interactions with Napoleon.

The last section covers the years 1811 - 1815, when Napoleon was finally defeated. I learned a lot in that section. I did not realize that Waterloo was after his first exile; for some reason it thought that it happened immediately after his retreat from Russia.

I highly recommend this volume and the entire series to anyone with a great love of history; though be warned that this is a major work. This volume alone is almost 800 pages long, which is probably the average size of the other 11 volumes. It took me 15 years to get through them all (I would only read a few pages a day), but it gave me a great perspective on history and humanity in general.

This last volume of the 11 part Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant is a worthy conclusion to their lifetime of educating America. The minute detail of the descriptions of their subject matter makes it compelling reading. I recommend the entire set as a retirement project for anyone who is curious about where we came from. Durant's Story of Philosophy is also a "must" read for well informed people.

The audiobooks version of the story of civilization is a sheer pleasure. The reading is masterfully done. I have listened to it many times with great pleasure

I did not find it detailed on dates places or people. It was a panorama of all. Places read of love and passion others of adventour and courage. Enjoyed the others of the series.

bought it to complete a set; i wish i would have paid attention to publication date cause now i have a mismatched set of different color covers.

This book is a good book for the Napoleon scholar, but for general reading is too detailed. However, it is a very well researched book and a nice history on Napoleon and his time.

Generally, the series of books written by Will and Ariel Durant is an enormous project, which the authors produced in a workman-like manner. Yes, they are pedants, and the works have a kind of lets-hurry-along flavor; a lets-get-it-all-in aura.

The Durants are Anglophiles, and it shows here. Too much Wellington, and too many British viewpoints, which were in the 19th Century and are to this day stacked against Napoleon, in particular, and the French, in general.

Reading this book, one gets the feeling, that the authors can hardly wait to get to the part about the Battle of Waterloo.

Anyone interested in Napoleon -- the man, and his works -- can find more comprehensive studies by other authors.

The Durant's writing style can sometimes be confusing to the uninitiated. They tend to string long sentences together with semicolins; using pronouns to the point of confusion for the reader.

There is a lot of information here, but this is not a great book. It is a very broad, shallow history giving only a mild flavor, not a real taste of the "Frenchness" of the Age of Napoleon. Francophiles and fans of the Emperor should look elsewhere.