Napoleon: A Life -- Adam Zamoyski, Hardcover

The definitive biography of Napoleon -- hailed as "magnificent" by The Economist.

"What a novel my life has been!" Napoleon once said of himself. Born into a poor family, the callow young man was, by twenty-six, an army general. Seduced by an older woman, his marriage transformed him into a galvanizing military commander. The Pope crowned him as Emperor of the French when he was only thirty-five. Within a few years, he became the effective master of Europe, his power unparalleled in modern history. His downfall was no less dramatic.

The story of Napoleon has been written many times. In some versions, he is a military genius, in others a war-obsessed tyrant. Here, historian Adam Zamoyski cuts through the mythology and explains Napoleon against the background of the European Enlightenment, and what he was himself seeking to achieve. This most famous of men is also the most hidden of men, and Zamoyski dives deeper than any previous biographer to find him. Beautifully written, Napoleon brilliantly sets the man in his European context.

Author: Adam Zamoyski
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 10/16/2018
Pages: 784
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.50lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.30w x 2.30d
ISBN: 9780465055937

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2018
Kirkus Reviews Fall Preview 08/15/2018 pg. 41
Library Journal 09/15/2018 pg. 65
Choice 02/01/2019

About the Author
Adam Zamoyski is the author of numerous books about Polish and European history, and has written for publications including the Times (London), the Times Literary Supplement, and the Guardian. He lives in London and Poland.