Napoleon Bonaparte [Paperback]

J. M. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2002

Fully examines the complex character of the French emperor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

J. M. Thompson was Tutorial Fellow in Modern History at Magdalen College, Oxford and University Lecturer in French History. He was a lecturer of great distinction, whose Lectures on Foreign History 1494-1789, first published in 1923, had sold over 43,000 copies by the time it went out of print 10 years ago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing (April 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750927593
• ISBN-13: 978-0750927598
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,200,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #55 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Bonaparte, Napoleon

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hubris, November 9, 2001

By 

Jeffrey Hayes (Annapolis MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte (Paperback)

Fortunately for Napoleonic scholars J.M.Thompson's masterful biography has reappeared in a new, affordable paperback edition. Less hagiographic than Cronin, less expensive than Chandler, and more comprehensive than Markham or Ellis, this volume, though first published in 1952, has aged well and remains a sound investment. Its success, no doubt, is owed in part to the author's reliance on primary sources and his decision to base the foundation of the work on Bonaparte's own personal correspondence. Thompson's facile writing ability plays no small part as well.

While chronicling the rise and fall of Napoleon, the author displays a keen apprehension of the repercussions of decisions and actions while finding time to apprise the reader of the roles of those on the sidelines; a Saliceti, a Fouche, a Madame de Stael. The enormous sweep of time is succinctly capsuled by the author and one comes away with a far better understanding of the era thanks to Thompson's critical analysis while being entertained by a master storyteller.

Neither incomparable saint nor inconceivable devil, Napoleon comes through as a tragically flawed genius, unable to rise to true greatness by his own egoism and selfishness.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Biography Gone Wrong, August 29, 2009

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James D. Williams (Irvine, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte (Paperback)

A key to successful writing lies in the ability of the author to contextualize the information for the reader. This requirement is especially important in biographies owing to the fact that historical figures are part of the places, people, and times of their lives. Thompson's book on Napoleon so completely ignores this requirement that one is forced to conclude that the intended audience has such significant expertise in 18th and 19th century French history and politics that they would have no need to read this work. For those without such expertise, the text is nearly always frustrating and often baffling. Consider: On page 65, Thompson mentions the "arrest of Babeuf" without offering even a shred of information on just who this person was, why he was arrested, or what relevance he had in a biography of Napoleon. On page 74, Thompson introduces Delacroix, again without any information, which is likely to leave the lay reader wondering unnecessarily whether the reference is Charles Delacroix (correct) or his son Eugene. On page 75, Thompson introduces Pierre Garrau, a civilian representative of the Directory that was then governing France with the following sentence: "Garrau, who was sent to assist him, was soon put in his place." Examples such as these fill page after page in mind-numbing succession.

In addition, any work examining Napoleon necessarily must concern itself with his numerous battles throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. Here, again, Thompson comes up short. Napoleon's conquest of Italy between 1796 and 1797 reads like a sophomore's outline. The battle for Arcole, which was desperate and revealed the incompetence, war-weariness, and just plain fear of the French troops--even as it displayed Napoleon's willingness to take amazing personal risks--is described as follows: "The victory of Arcole (November 16th)--the climax of a fortnight's campaign against Wurmser's second attempt to raise the siege--made the ultimate fall of Mantua a foregone conclusion. . ." (p. 79). Not a word about how Napoleon grabbed the French flag and, with his staff officers, rushed the bridge over the river Alpone after his infantry had been repulsed owing to heavy Croatian and Austrian fire. Furthermore, many of Napoleon's battles took place in or around small villages, like Arcole, that few people have ever heard about, yet there is not a single map in the entire book.

Problems such as those noted above are compounded by Thompson's stiff, dismal prose. In 400 pages of tiny print about a man who was full of life to the end, there is not one sentence that captures the essence of Napoleon, not one sentence that causes the reader to smile in recognition. One could argue, I suppose, that a historical work published in 1952 conformed to different standards than what readers today expect. I would submit that such an argument is flawed. One need only look at the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides to recognize that the principles of good writing have not changed drastically over the centuries--and certainly not over the last 60 years. The simple fact is that this is an awful book that fails to do justice to its subject or to the art of writing about history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Study, May 10, 2010

By 

M. Hooper (Oklahoma City, OK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Napoleon Bonaparte (Paperback)

Thompson argues that Napoleon's ego and personal ambition were the driving forces behind his success and failure. What becomes clear very early is that Thompson was greatly influenced by his own era and the events of his own life. He seems to have seen Napoleon as an earlier version of Hitler, and that judgment permeates this work. On occasion, Thompson's own evidence argues against personal motivations, something that Thompson simply ignores or dismisses. Still, this is a must read for anyone interested in Napoleon's campaigns and career. Organized by battles and campaigns, Thompson's biography offers an important (even vital) basis for the study of the man and the period. Pair it with something like Michael Broers' Europe Under Napoleon 1799-1815 for a more nuanced study of man and period. The two also offer an excellent example of contrasting interpretations of Napoleon. As Broer assumes familiarity with Thompson's work, I would strongly recommend that the reader begin with Thompson simply to make Broer more comprehensible. For either/both, a good map of France and of Europe at the ready will make it all more fun.