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Napoleon (1915)

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Emil Ludwig's work remains classic despite its age. It is true that the book does not have the maps which would help the reader to locate the geographical dimension of Napoleon's carreer and actions, and the author does not include dates inside his text, but if someone wants a pure operational history of the French armies can look to the appropriate atlases like that of V. Esposito and J. Elting, or the magnificent "The Campaigns of Napoleon" by David Chandler. The main merit of Ludwig's book is its immediacy, the clarity of Napoleon's thoughts and decision making and of course the excellent writing which has an astonishing freshness no matter how many times one reads the book. By seting himself free from the grip of time and place Ludwig can build his story like a fairy tale, which I found truly remarkable and unusual. There are many studies regarding Napoleon as a man and a general, but this one is definitely one of the best.

NAPOLEON
BY EMIL LUDWIG
Reviewed by Dhirender K Singh

Emil Ludwig's biography of Napoleon continues its remarkable presence as a classic of Napoleonic literature and has yet to be surpassed for its unique presentation writing in the present tense. Ludwig brings to life his subjects character better than any other biography of Napoleon.

Ludwig (1881_1948) was 45 and living in Germany when he published "Napoleon" in 1926, and the work was translated and published in the following year, before he turned 30,Ludwig, wrote 12 plays, half of which were produced, and one of them featuring napoleon. Following the publication of the Napoleon several other biographies by Ludwig were translated into English including Jesus , Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Beethoven.

The biography is divided into five books one, "The Island"(birth to marriage); two "The Torrent"(army of Italy to first counsel); Three, "The River"(Marengo to birth of Napoleon 11); four, "The Sea" (Russia to Waterloo); and Five, "The Rock" (St Helena) Each book begins with a quote from "Goethe". Although Ludwig does not include a bibliography, the concluding four pages, the "Envoy", he states," .In this book, all the data are recorded facts, except the soliloquies." He had the "brilliant technique" and the ability to "analyze character so admirably. Infact he is the student of character
Ludwig `s admiration for Napoleon is mainly intellectual, though morally he is prepared to go farther in his support than many critics. He has tried to write the inner history of Napoleon and has put minor attention to the battles and campaigns .His self confidence confers on him a natural dignity that amazes and angers the legitimist world, which believes dignity to be consonant only with heredity and culture .His energy is concentrated on human beings. Very rarely does he come into conflict with natural forces; and whenever he does so, he is beaten. The imaginative power is also the source of his knowledge of men and his guide to the management of men . And finally the affect underlying his energy and his imagination are dominated by the clarity of his thoughts.

His work reads like a novel instead of like a history book. Ludwig has an extraordinary capacity for seeing and judging the "true inwardness "of people and events." Ludwig became a Swiss citizen in 1932 and at the time of his death in 1948 had several biographies in progress including Alexander, Karl William von Humboldt and King David .His Napoleon earned a solid place among Napoleonic biographies and continues to have an impact today.

In this book Emil Ludwig tried to write the inner story of Napoleon. He is one of the most illuminating figure in modern history .he was a man of extraordinary qualities and at the same time suffered from extraordinary failings .His ambition was power, his dream, a vast empire, and his passion, wars and victories. People loved him and presented him with power, gave him their sons to satisfy his passion for continuous warfare till he exhausted France of her manpower. Great Kingdoms collapsed before him and all Europe trembled at his name .He terrorized many Kings into subjugation till he was subjugated himself in a fateful battle and met his end in a tragic manner as the `Prisoner of Europe"
Here is the story of this dauntless man, the story of great French Revolution from which this brilliant commander emerged; the story of his striking military campaigns, his mighty war and conquests, his colorful love affairs and the woman who ruled him; and the story of intrigues that surrounded him and led to his downfall.

Napoleon was a great artillerist with an inherited versatility and vigorous imagination he had a very strong family feelings .his rational reasoning, clannishness, cosmopolitan nature, intrigues plans demean our and venture work always inspired his men. His ability and affection of soldiers enabled him to usurp the command. His confidence level was very high and he thus refused to work under General Killerman (considered the best general at that time) He said, "One bad general is better to two good Generals.

The book also portrays him as a great lover and an immaculate politician. His love for Josephine was so deep that the last word s he spoke prior to dying was Josephine. He created and structured his constituency in a very effective manner. He promulgated strict canons and was very harsh upon the culprits. His decisions were adamant, but dealt leniently with two German women, who appealed straight to his heart.

The book also says that he slanders as well as the tough talented who led one of the greatest armies in military history. Men, who marched the length and breadth of Europe, entered every capitol of continental Europe as conquerors. He was the great soldier, he had enemies all round. There were three attempts on his life but he escaped all the times .His attempts to step out of Europe were thwarted by intrinsic chaos.

This book has an enormous temporal of Napoleon's experiences and makes interesting reading .The momentum of the novel slows down after Napoleon's marriage .The great battles won are written very systematically with great expounding, but the ploys adopted are not mentioned .The book has nicely brought out the complete biography of Napoleon in an exemplary manner .It has been felt that Napoleon would have achieved much more, had France supported him in his ploys.

This book is written as a novel. That is how Emil Ludwig writes all his books. The book is very informative and very entertaining which differs from most other monotonous and boring biographies found out there. Ludwig did an extensive research before writing this book, and this is his well know masterpiece; other books by Ludwig are Beethoven, Jesus, Bolivar all written in the same maner. You mostly don't find footnotes in novels, so the complain written by the reader above...

Emil Ludwig, the author of "Napoleon," (1926) was a German author and newspaper reporter with a rare gift of combining exhaustive research with a very readable prose style which makes his characters seem alive and immediate. In his several biographies, of perhaps which "Napoleon" is his most famous, we seem to actually be present at the actions of the day, even reading the protagonists' minds --as it were-- to ascertain the "whys" and "wherefores."

In this authoritative but well-written and quickly-paced and "easy to read" biography, Napoleon the Man comes to life --as in few biographies before or since. Ludwig brings us a deep understanding of Napoleon's developing character, taking us along with him from his birth in the Mediterranean island of Corsica to his ignominous death in exile at St Helena, a wind-swept island "a 1000-miles away from anywhere else" --kept there because his enemies were in terror of the ex-emperor's being anywhere near them!

We see Napoleon as he was seen by his contemporaries in their letters and writings, and more importantly, as he saw himself --"hearing" his spoken words (as transcribed later) and reading his own personal and official letters, saved in dusty family and state archives. We meet his few friends, his many enemies, his avaricious family, his loyal Marshals, and his opportunistic Ministers of State, ready to betray him to save their own positions. We accompany him as a near-impoverished student at the royal French military academy at Brienne, and see him resplendent at his magnificent coronation in Notre Dame de Paris as Emperor of the French. We are at his side as he becomes first a lieutenant of artillery, and then as the general of artillery saving the day for the ruling Directory, and watch as he later meets Josephine, his future wife and Empress. We accompany him on his many triumphs --and few defeats-- in war --and in bed. We see him flushed with victory after victory, and near suicidal following his 2nd abdication and subsequent surrender to the British.

We follow the Man "following his Star" --sharing in his undreamed of heights --and in his desparate lows.

Napoleon lived 200 years ago --and We Are There.

This book has a strange history with me. Many years ago, perhaps as long as 30, my mother told me that when she was young she had read a long, detailed biography of Napoleon. I thought nothing of this, beyond noting that she was precocious. Apparently this was when she was in her early teens. Some years later (say 15 years ago, or so) a friend of mine saw this biography of Napoleon in a used bookstore and bought it for me. The edition he bought be was large, had a black cover, and had been published in the early 20s. I put the book away, intending to get to it, but never did. A few years later, my mother bought be a copy of this same biography out of a catalog, in a different edition from a few years later. The edition she bought me this time had a dust jacket, yellow in color, with a picture of Napoleon scowling off to one side, hand thrust in his jacket. A few years later, forgetting she'd already gotten me the book, she bought it for me again, and this time she got me the edition that my friend had bought me years before. This was when I discovered that I had three copies of the book. I decided I should probably read one of them, at least.

I can find out nothing about the author. His name, and writing style, sound European, perhaps German, perhaps something similar like Swiss. He apparently wrote a slew of biographies in the 30s and 40s. This is, to judge by the responses to his various books, the one people have read the most.

First thing to get out of the way when discussing the book is the usual qualification of what this book is, and what it isn't. Ludwig included a 4 page section at the end where he explains why he did what he did, and one of the things he says is that he finds the courses of the Emperor's various battles to be "irrelevant". He's fascinated by Napoleon's personal life, and even more interested in his view of the world and his vision for France and Europe. As a result, he spends almost no space in the book on the various campaigns of one of history's great captains: he tells you that any number of Napoleon's generals fought battles also, but what makes the Emperor unique was what he did between those battles: the Code Napoleon, the restructuring of Germany and Italy, that sort of thing.

This is true, and if that were the limit of this book I expect I would be giving it a higher rating. There are, however, two things which make the book strange to say the least. One is the author's use of the present tense for all of the events he recounts. I've run across this before (Jonathan D. Spence does it a lot), but it seemed strange and forced here. Perhaps it had something to do with the passage of more than 80 years since this book was written. The second strange thing is that the author feels the need to add what he calls soliloquies to the text, monologues that he imagines Napoleon might have given in a particular instance if he were so inclined. The afterword makes it clear that Ludwig invented these, and defends his decision by arguing that his flights of imagination are needed to fill in the gaps in Bonaparte's personality that aren't readily filled.

The result is a strange mix of biography and novel, with a lot more dialog than in a typical biography. It's an interesting book, but the reader must be aware that if you're looking for a study of Napoleon the general, this isn't the place to go.

This work concentrates of the huge body of letters the subject wrote throughout his life. The central focus of the book is Napoleon's relations with his largely disloyal and useless family members, who owed their success, such as it was, only to his genius for leadership. The author has a humorous writing style which should receive a larger audience. Highly recommended. Writer was justifiably famous during his lifetime.

While this is an impressive work, it has many qualities that keep me from recommending it. Others have mentioned the dearth of dates for historical context. I will concentrate on the most aggravating quality of all.

Ludwig's use of the present tense is an affectation that not only grates but casts doubt. Is this history or fiction? Combine this with his penchant for melodramatic exclamations and it frequently feels like you are on a "living history" bus tour with William Shatner as guide: "Look! There comes Napoleon down the street! Now he will exact his revenge on Paoli. Never again shall they laugh at Bonaparte. Insolent fools!"

The information can be insightful but I can't tell where the facts end and the fanciful editorializing begins.

Napoleon is one of those rare individuals who comes along every couple hundred years or so and tries to conquer the world. He speaks of love for his country and countrymen, but in reality, it matters not one whit to the man where he is from, only that he can get power from from the land of his birth and use it to build an empire. Napoleon was, in fact, not French at all, but a Corsican Italian. His story is very readable, and he can generate some sympathy for himself, but in reality, he threw away lives like they were soot from his fireplace, ready to refill his fires of war whenever it pleased him. The book assumes you are already well read and makes reference to some people and events with an AHA! moment that is lost on me because, despite the fact that I like to read, I'm not as well read as someone from the 1920's who would have bought this book originally. It was still a good read, if a little over my head. The writer did a good job of keeping you in the story and not just recounting the facts of history.

His battles are only mentioned for their outcome. If you want detailed combat review, this book is not it. It his is life, the politics and the foibles of himself and the people he surrounded himself with. You could not make up the story of Napoleon, as Mark Twain once said: "Truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense".

The end was a bit drawn out, he could have spent much less time on the last years of his life, in my opinion and more on the parts of his "career" while he was flurishing. But over all, a good solid book that will probably make you do some additional research (see: Countess Marie Walewska on Wikipedia, for example) to get the "rest of the story".

This book is a real stinker. The first problem I noticed was that all the dates for the events were listed in an index at the front of the book. In the text of the book, dates are not noted, even in footnotes. THERE ARE NO FOOTNOTES!! It makes no sense to me to place the important dates outside of the narrative, so the reader has no perspective of how much time is passing. Why should I have to flip to the front of the book every time I want to know the date for the event? My copy is old, so maybe this was changed in later printings. I doubt it.

The narrative itself is not bad. If it were a novel it would be adequate, though with little dialogue. Ludwig does a passable job of explaining Napoleon's personality and motivations. Unfortunately, this does not save the book from disaster. Although we get decent descriptions of Napoleon's motives, they are a little too interpretive, which makes the reader feel like he is reading about a fiction character, not a real person.

I was very disappointed. Because I am such an admirer of Wellington, I was looking forward to reading about his nemisis. I picked the wrong book. If you want to really learn about Napoleon, read something else! Pass over this book and get one that includes the dates in the text, has useful footnotes, and perhaps has pictures and maps.