The Campaigns of Napoleon (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "CAPTAIN OF ARTILLERY Napoleone di Buonaparte (he habitually signed his name after the Italian fashion until 1796) was practically twenty-four years old before his name..." (more)
Key Phrases: Army of Italy, First Consul, General Bonaparte (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Boston Globe Writing clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters. -- Review

Review

Eliot Fremont-SmithBooks of the TimesA massive and absorbing -- one is tempted to say definitive -- account and detailed analysis of the military career of Napoleon....The descriptions of the battles -- all the important ones, and all augmented by superb position maps -- have perhaps never been done with greater clarity.

The New York Review of BooksChandler can hold up his head with the best of them. His prose is as clear as his intellect....his scholarship is excellent...this is a fine book for the historian, the student, and the intelligent reader.

Los Angeles TimesChandler's analysis is so thorough that there is hardly an area untouched.

The New YorkerThe book is engrossing, and...amounts to a first-rate general account of Europe in the Napoleonic era....brilliant, unremittingly attentive to detail and sparkling with insights into a man, a nation, and an epoch.

The Boston GlobeWriting clearly and vividly, [Chandler] turns dozens of persons besides Napoleon from mere wooden soldiers into three- dimensional characters.

John BarkhamBook WeekIn every way...a pleasure to read...a remarkable work which comes as close to dissecting the ingredients of Napoleon's military genius as any I have read...[it is] that rare combination -- a book impeccable in its expertise, penetrating in its analysis, and attractive in its presentation. No matter how numerous your books on Napoleon, make room for this one.

St. Louis Post-DispatchFew works equal the scope and scholarship of Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon...a masterpiece in the truest sense of what military history ought to be.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1172 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; illustrated edition edition (March 1, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0025236601
• ISBN-13: 978-0025236608
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,755 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best single reference on the campaigns of Napoleon, March 12, 2006

By	Utah Blaine (Somewhere on Trexalon in District 268) - See all my reviews

This is, without question, the best single volume reference in English on the campaigns of Napoleon. This book is not perfect, and I would agree with some of the negative points made by other reviewers, but I cannot understand how anyone would give this less than five stars. There is simply no other book that is even comparable to this one. This book is to the Napoleonic Wars what Shelby Foote's series is to the American Civil War, absolutely indispensible for any serious (amateur or professional) historian or student of the era.

This book is really three books in one: it is partly a biography of Napoleon, partly an analysis of his art of war, and partly a history of his campaigns. It covers NBs youth, his meteoric rise to prominance after the French Revolution, and every campaign that he participated in. I've read this book cover to cover three times, and individual chapters so many times that I've lost count. Chandler's writing style is engrossing and easy to read, not dry summaries of facts and events and dates. He is both a great writer and a great historian.

My (or others') disagreements with Chandler on individual points simply do not detract from this masterly work. I would agree, however, that this book is very Anglo-centric, probably its biggest drawback. Historians are often looking for `balance' in their assessments, and it is in this area that Chandler is weakest. I think he overplays the role of the English in ultimately defeating Napoleon, although this is a problem with virtually everthing that has been written about Napoleon by the English. Oddly, I would also agree that Chandler treats Napoleon with almost hero worship. Too much hyperbole perhaps, but this is more of a literary criticism of the text rather than historical. One negative comment that other reviewers have made regarding this book is that it is either factually incorrect or incomplete/not sufficiently detailed, etc. These are insignificant criticisms in my view. There are no gross historical errors in this book, either in facts or in interpretation, to my knowledge. If you want a balanced, broad view of any historical era, you must read a variety of primary and secondary sources. In the case of the Napoleonic wars, you must read French, German, and Russian sources as well. This book is not the only word on the subject, but the best written in English. This is the BEST book on the subject, this is one of the best histories ever written, even if neither perfect nor exhaustive.

I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is WELL worth the money to purchase it and the time spent to read it. If I had to throw out all but ten of my books, this is one of the ten I would keep. I would recommend this book to someone who is not particularly interested in the era, much as I would Foote's series. Don't pay any attention to the reviewers who have given this book less than five stars, they are niggling over trifles. This is an outstanding book.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best Starting Point, December 17, 1999

By A Customer

For anybody wanting just one book to discover the Napoleonic Wars, this has to be the one. It is comprehensive, well written and has many useful maps. As such, it is a most useful purchase.

Although it was first written over thirty years ago and is a little dated, no attempts to supercede it have ever been successful. I suspect this work will remain a standard text for at least the next thirty years as well.

Like all books, it has it faults. There are those that complain about it being anglocentric. Well, Chandler is British by birth and a graduate of Oxford, so it would be surprising if it wasn't. Would the book have been any better if it had been francocentric or sinocentric? Probably not.

There are those that complain that Chandler sees Napoleon as a 'great man, but a great bad man'. It is suprising how many people admire grabbing, egocentric dictators that bring enormous suffering to the world. (I know, he left so many legacies to the world, like a legal system, roads, etc. but did so many people have to die for that?) The fact that Chandler devotes such a massive tome to the man surely indicates a little more than dislike?

There are those that whine about minor errors of fact and typrographic errors in this book. Well, if they can do better, they should try.

There are also those who complain about a lack of original research. Well, I challenge anybody to write such a massive tome based on primary sources only and complete it in one lifetime. That criticism is banal, to say the least.

In all, a great classic, the best place to start for beginners to this period, a work that is not likely to be surpassed for some time, but not without a few minor faults.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough survey of the Napoleon's campaigns, September 4, 2001

By	R. H OAKLEY "roboakley" (Vienna, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

David Chandler provides a thorough review of Napoleon's 60 battles. He demonstrates that Napoleon, while not an innovator in tactics, was nonetheless a master of innovations developed by others and was capable of great innovation. The subject, of course, is extremely broad, and as long as this book is, it could have been much longer. Chandler omits a great deal of biographical detail about Napoleon to concentrate on his development as a military leader. Indeed, if you find this book too long to read or expensive to buy, I suggest getting a copy from the library and just reading the chapter that gives an overview for how Napoleon went about conducting his campaigns.

I do not agree with those who say that Chandler exhibits a British bias. He clearly sees Napoleon as the greatest military leader of his time, and perhaps of all time. In other writings, he has soundly rejected comparisons made by other historians between Hitler and Napoleon. Moreover, he makes clear that, at least in the early years of his leadership, Napoleon was not to blame for the wars that engulfed Europe.

Finally, despite the length of the book, I found it to be extremely readable, and not hard to finish at all.