Customer Reviews

Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words

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Napoleon and Pascal are the two finest minds I have encountered and are unrivalled as students of the human heart. They are as penetrating as Dostoyevsky and more logical. This work and Pensees illuminate the human condition with unmatched clarity. Napoleon was an undisputed genius, and no man of comparable intellect had such a wide experience of life. Here he tells us what existence taught him about men, love, war, politics and God. Here is philosophy wrung from a life of unparalleled incident and as such the emperor is suitably humble, surprisingly likeable, and unflinchingly honest. 'A man is only a man, if circumstances are not favourable he is nothing'. 'All my life I have sacrificed evrything - comfort, self-interest, happiness - to my destiny.' 'I have never doubted God. For if my reason did not suffice to understand him, yet my inner feeling accepted him.' 'Only a madman can die without a confessor.' Mr. Herold's book does not contain all of the great man's insights, but it is the best starting point available.

It is a shame that this book is currently out of print. If I were to recommend ONE book (out of thousands available on the topic) as a starting point for someone interested in what made Napoleon tick it would be this one. Herold has arranged Napoleon's writings and quotes by topic in an easy to follow manner. This book makes a great companion volume to general works on the period and gives readers an extra dimension of understanding. Here in his own words is the ultimate product of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

If I must go to a deserted place today and am allowed to carry only one book, this would be it. It will provide me with enough thoughts on life, death, destiny, existence, hope and vision to fill a lifetime. If you ever wondered how a man could achieve (and fail) so spectacularly for so short a span in such diverse areas, this book will deliver the answer. You will never see him under the same lights.

The Mind of Napoleon, A Selection from His Written & Spoken Words, edited & translated by J. Christopher Herold; Columbia University Press (1955)


Why this book has deserved & suffered the fate of neglect is incomprehensible; the "Introduction" alone is fascinating:

"What vitality they [the myths that arose from Napoleon's career] have in the minds of [later] men is owed to the vitality of the mind that made them [the myths] possible - the furious mental energy & activity that accepted the challenge of every problem, roused or crushed the will of men, & fell short of its objective only because that objective was unlimited."

The quotations themselves are of note, but if you haven't already, first read these introductory & intermediate histories of the Napoleonic era, prior to tackling "The Mind":

Herold's superb "The Age of Napoleon, The Horizon Book of" (American Heritage Publishing Company 1963; re-issued in paperback by Mariner Books 2002);

The single-volume "Napoleon Bonaparte," by the equally able writer/historian, Alan Schom (HarperCollins 1997);

For a book by an author whose sense of humor & wit is 2nd to none, try "Napoleon & His Marshals," by A.G. Macdonell (Prion Book Ltd. 1934; Macmillan & Co. 1996);

And if you can take the truculent tone of "Bonaparte," by Correlli Barnett (who apparently avoided contact with strenuous thought before deciding on a title; Hill & Wang [Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux], 1978), you will profit;

And the last book to read before opening "The Mind of Napoleon" is Herold's own excellent "Mistress To An Age, A Life of Madame de Stael" (Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc. 1958; reissued by Grove Press).

All are recommended not only due to their own extraordinary stand-alone merit, but also because the one drawback to "The Mind" is that the quotations have been (intentionally) extracted from the contexts in which these quotations had originally been heard. These essential & absent contexts should be provided by the books recommended above.

(Also, regrettably, academia can infect even the best writer/historians. Herold's "Yet the first thing he must gauge accurately is precisely the destiny of his nation" would have been better stated simply as: "Yet he must first accurately gauge the destiny of his nation.")

Of course, dozens of thousands of books about Napoleon & his era exist. I can't guarantee that the above recommendations are superior to those offered by other readers (who can?). But they will lead you to as good a place to begin, or to refresh one's memory, as any other reputable advice.

Other valuable features of "The Mind" are:

A compact "Main Events in Napoleon's Career" is a useful chronology of the historical events of Napoleon's life (1769-1821; do note the discrepancy between the "Peninsular War (1808-1814)" - which is one year too many if his following entry, "French expelled from Germany & Spain," dated "1813" is correct).

Finally, take advantage of the comprehensive & tartly informative "Biographical Notes," a remarkable roster of the various French, English, Russian & other politicians, statesmen, kings, soldiers, writers & artists of Napoleon's era. My favorite:

"Fouche, Joseph, 1759-1821, French minister of police (1799-1802, 1804-10). An inveterate turncoat, he took part in the Reign of Terror, served under the Directory, the Consulate, & the Empire, helped the Bourbons in 1814, joined Napoleon during the Hundred Days, then again supported the Bourbons..."

Nothing would have stopped this man, in our own era, had he been engaged in the equally merciless intrigues of the regime of George Steinbrenner.

These notes are also appreciated for the tips offered about the reliability & readability of the memoirs written by some of these individuals. If they're rubbish, Herold did not mince words: "Dr. O'Meara, one of the Evangelists of Saint Helena...his awkward prose is [in] English in name only..." (!)

if you enjoyed szun tzus art of war you will definetly enjoy this book in my opinion

if u like szun tzus art of war you will really enjoy reading this book

Not the best book ever written. It is not very well writte