Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars [Paperback]

Albert Marrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1993

Follows Napoleon Bonaparte from his origins as a lowly soldier to his rise to military power and his conquest of Europe.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-12-- An outstanding book about Napoleon and his era. As the title indicates, Marrin--while not neglecting Napoleon's other accomplishments--focuses on his subject's military genius, with thorough descriptions of weapons, campaigns, battles, and opponents such as Nelson and Wellington. He gives a balanced analysis of Napoleon, does an excellent job of putting things in context, and provides a wealth of detail. Marrin's study is truly fascinating, not merely educational; it should become the definitive work on this period of French history. McGuire's Napoleon (Chelsea, 1986; o.p.), while adequate, is less challenging and less interesting. --Ann W. Moore, formerly at Lane Road Library, Columbus, OH
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014036479X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140364798
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,385,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Albert Marrin is an award winning author of over 40 books for young adults and young readers and four books of scholarship. These writings were motivated by the fact that as a teacher, first in a junior high school in New York City for nine years and then as professor of history and chairman of the history department at Yeshiva University until he retired to become a full time writer, his paramount interest has always been to make history come alive and accessible for young people.

Winner of the 2008 National Endowment for Humanities Medal for his work, which was presented at the White House, was given "for opening young minds to the glorious pageant of history. His books have made the lessons of the past come alive with rich detail and energy for a new generation."

Dr. Marrin's numerous other awards include the Washington Post Childrens'Book Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, the James Madison Award for Lifetime Achievement, several Horn Book awards by the Boston Globe, consistently appearing on the best book of the year lists of the American Library Association, frequent recognition by Book Lists, and the Western Heritage Award for best juvenile nonfiction book presented at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An detailed and accurate account of a wonderful book, July 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars (Hardcover)

The book is a shockingly detailed account of the Napoleon as a person and as a conqueror. It is fairly presented and allows the reader to form an unbiased opinion about Napoleon during one of the most confusing and frightening periods in history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A general outline of the dictator Napoleon., April 19, 2004

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars (Paperback)

I have been pleased with some of the other books by Albert Marrin. This book is an OK read. It is neither a great nor poor read. One learns about Napoleon Bonaparte and the world he created in France and Continental Europe. Since this is a short book, Marrin had to shorten some of the depth on this book. One thing which I liked in other books by Marrin are the interesting asides about words or phrases. These asides are missing in this book.
Marrin is a good author for historical subjects for the young reader. For this subject, Marrin boils down the substance of Napeleon in a short quick read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Rise and Fall of the Great Napoleon, October 4, 2005

By 

Chris "The Trumpetwiz" (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars (Paperback)

Napoleon Bonaparte, military genius, outstanding commander, l'Empereur, L'Homme du destin - The Man of Destiny. Napoleon was all these things, and many more. Through military inspiration, the ability to recognize and seize every opportunity, and a bit of luck, Napoleon became the emperor of France. Then, "breaking every military rule, he conquered Europe and changed the face of war forever, creating the first mass army - and the first mass graves." (Marrin inside cover) This biography is his story.
When I hear "biography," I think "boring." But with this book, this is not the case. Marrin is able to tell the adventures of Napoleon and useful facts in a way where none of the parts are boring or lacking action at all. The biases I originally predicted are fairly accurate. This book is slightly biased towards how great of a mastermind Napoleon was. But, he really was a military genius, so you can barely even call it bias...
This biography tells all about Napoleon's life in an exciting way. The prologue is excellent and well used: it tells the reader about when Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of France. This was unspeakable; every Emperor before him had been crowned by the chief priest of France. Some people hated him for his cocky action, others adored him for it. Chapter one shows the reader the harsh and poor life-style Napoleon had on his island home of Corsica. Born in 1769, he had to fight other, bigger kids all the time for food, toys, and family honor. In Corsica, family was everything. There would be family blood feuds that would last over generations, started by a petty argument. "Corsicans respected the family more than any law; more, it was said, than God Himself." (Marrin 7) These first few pages of the novel really show how determined and intelligent Napoleon really was. He came up from these harsh conditions on a small, shabby island, to rise through the ranks up to general at the young age of twenty-four. From there he would seize and overthrow the entire French government in its deepest time of peril. He once stated, "The most dangerous moment comes with victory." (Chew 1) After many good improvements to the French economy and laws, he set off on a conquest: a conquest to rule the world. He went on, through military genius, to conquer almost all of Europe, which was almost the whole "civilized world" at the time. But, greed and power got the better of him, of course. He overworked his troops and lost everything at the battle of Waterloo. It just goes to show that everyone, even L'Homme du destin, will make mistakes.
I enjoyed this book, especially compared to other biographies. It's exciting and well-written content has the potential to keep you up through the night. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in warfare, because Napoleon was one of the best. Albert Marrin did a good job of gathering interesting information and turning it into an action-packed biography.