Recently, I have been debating between three books about Napoleon.
\- Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts is apparently very thorough, easy to read, and tells the story almost as if it were a novel, making it fun and enjoyable. The problem is that some historians have criticized that although a lot of things are accurate, the author does get quite a bit wrong, including getting the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine completely wrong. It also doesn’t use any French primary or secondary sources, so you can see why this is a problem.
\- The Campaigns of Napoleon by David G Chandler is renowned for being extraordinarily precise and in-depth, and is also Andrew Roberts (see above) favorite book on Napoleon. However, I have heard it barely goes into his personal life, and only focuses on his military campaigns. Additionally, it is hard to find unless bought second-hand, making it expensive.
\- The Napoleon biography by Jean Tulard is considered a masterpiece by those who have read it, but sadly, the English translation is terrible and makes the work hard to read and very boring, as seen by the Amazon reviews and newspaper reviews of the English translation.
What do you think? I want the best overall biography on Napoleon, so the one that checks most of these boxes:
\- Historically accurate/well researched
\- In-depth and thorough
\- Goes into his military success and his personal life/rise to power
\- Readable/fun and easy to enjoy
Thanks!
by Free_Logix
3 Comments
If you read French, would highly recommend Jean Tulard.
You may want to ask this on r/AskHistorians.
Campaigns of Napoleon is the first and only book I’ve read so far on Napoleon. I’d say it’s a bit more academic & the book itself is a beast. While it’s more focused on his military campaigns, you’ll still learn some general stuff about Napoleon’s life. But yeah if you strictly want to read about his military career it’s the best you can read. I also loved Chandler’s analysis because he’s just very blunt. Even if it’s not the type of book you’re looking for on Napoleon I’d still highly recommend it.