Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography. [Hardcover]

Vincent. Cronin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1972

This biographical style tends more towards a sympathetic overview of Napoleon's life and focuses more on the man's personality and relationships rather than his wars and battles, although these still play a significant part of the book.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: William Morrow; First American Edition edition (March 1972)
• ISBN-10: 0688001009
• ISBN-13: 978-0688001001
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,057,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #49 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bonaparte, Napoleon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full detail of the man who chased his dream, April 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography. (Hardcover)

This book tells very specific detail of Napoleon's life. Story begins from childhood in Corsica then his constant victories on wars and tragic ending in St.helena island. Until I read this book , I didn't even know Napoleon's mother's tongue was Italian, not French. It really surprised me that an ordinary soldier became an emperor of France and threatning entire Europe. What was his secret to achieve his dream. Read this book, and you will get an answer.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A great read start to finish, May 9, 2001

By 

Noel Molloy (Werribee, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography. (Hardcover)

A smaller, simpler, more accurate, and infinately kinder book than Alan Schom's attempt at destroying the myth of Napoleon.I bought this book many years ago at the Waterloo battlefield, and it has remained with me since. Not a large book as biographies go, but full of wonderful observations and insights. Well worth buying.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intimate look at a very public man, July 3, 2009

By 

Nathan Morris (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte: An Intimate Biography. (Hardcover)

The author's stated reason for writing this biography of one of history's most compelling figures is his dissatisfaction with other biographies' exploration of Napoleon as a man, husband, father, and friend. While relying heavily on the memoirs of people who knew Napoleon personally, the author certainly manages to close this alleged gap in the historical analysis of Napoleon's life. The biography focuses on who Napoleon was, and discusses what he did only as a means of creating a better understanding of who he was as a person. In some cases this leads to completely ignoring certain events which are arguably highly important historical moments on the world stage. Notably missing from the American perspective is any mention at all of the Louisiana purchase, and in fact America is mentioned only in passing a handful of times, despite the long standing French presence in North America. However, I find the personal focus to be a positive element of the book rather than a negative, because the events of Napoleon's life which can be easily learned through many other sources are best understood by first understanding the heart and mind of the man making the decisions that led to those events.

That understanding is a goal that the author accomplishes with an enjoyable, easily readable style that is both informative and impressive on its own literary merits. The tone of the biography is far from objective in an absolute sense, but while the reader can easily conclude that the author is an admirer of Napoleon, the man's faults and mistakes are examined along with his triumphs and virtues. In all cases, the objective is to paint a complete portrait of a man who came from humble beginnings, believed passionately in both personal and national principles, and who sought to conduct himself with honor and integrity for the betterment of his family and nation.

While Napoleon in both his own lifetime and since has been widely criticized as consumed by ambition and power-seeking, this biography demonstrates a heart and mind devoted to servanthood combined with tireless action to administer a national government newly formed from the ashes of a corrupt and selfish monarchy. Almost equal attention is given to Napoleon's domestic policies and acts as to his foreign affairs, which mainly consisted of attempting to extract France from a series of wars brought on by the revolution's overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty. In between planning campaigns against Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Britain, Napoleon also planned and implemented improvements to France's finances, agriculture, trade, legal system, and culture through the upgrade of public infrastructure such as roads and aqueducts, a ruthless crackdown on public corruption by government officials, the promotion of the arts and sciences through education and personal patronage, just to name a few. In his first exile on Elba, he even devoted himself to improving the economy and culture of the island.

Scant attention is paid to France's military campaigns in any way that would appeal to devotees of military history, but they are discussed as insights into Napoleon's strategic thinking, quick mind, and inventive approach to problem solving on and off the battlefield. His endless devotion to the wellbeing of the men under his command is highlighted again and again.

While not a history of the time period, the understanding provided in this biography of one of the period's leading figures provides a necessary and compelling counterpoint to the often British dominated perspective of Western history that casts the French revolution as a mindless bloodbath of psychopaths, and Napoleon as an empire building tyrant. By the end of the book, the reader finds a leader who was far less like Caligula or Nero, and far more like Marcus Aurelius or Julius Caesar. This biography is a worthy addition to any library devoted to history or the individuals who have been its leading influences.