Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wenborn, Neil (2012): Napoleon - In a Nutshell

What is it about?

True to its title, the book is a short life history of Napoleon Bonaparte.

After the "early life" section in the beginning, the book is mostly military history - covering Napoleon's "active" life in terms of battles and conquests.

Was it good?

The book certainly provides an informative overview of the life of Napoleon.

However, I would have appreciated a more "micro history" approach, in which battles, military expeditions, conquests, political struggles etc. were not so dominant.

Thus, after reading the book, I was still wondering a bit about "who was Napoleon, really" and "what was Napoleon like as a person".

The main take-away for me?

If there is one take-away (albeit probably an unintended one), it surely must be that determination takes one quite far, if not all the way to the ultimate goal in all cases. Namely, Napoleon was, if nothing, else, apparently quite a determined person.

Who should read the book?

This is once again one of those books which on the one hand would require that one has a heightened interest in the subject matter but, on the other, in such a case one probably does not any longer have a need for a book like this.

I would more readily recommend the book, had it focused more on the human being instead of the military goings on during his active years.

The book on Amazon.com: Napoleon - In a Nutshell

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