Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York, American Heritage Pub. Co.; book trade distribution by Harper and Row [1963]
Description
THE AGE OF NAPOLEON is the biography of an enigmatic and legendary personality as well as the portrait of an entire age. J. Christopher Herold tells the fascinating story of the Napoleonic world in all its aspects -- political, cultural, military, commercial, and social. Napoleon’s rise from common origins to enormous political and military power, as well as his ultimate defeat, influenced our modern age in thousands of ways, from the map of Europe to the metric system, from styles of dress and dictators to new conventions of personal behavior.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1963
Physical description
420 p.; 31 cm
DDC/MDS
| 940.27 HER |
User reviews
LibraryThing member exlibrisbitsy
This book is part biography, part history book as it tells the story of Napoleon in the context of the times he was in: political, cultural, military, economic and social.
I will tell you this up front. Going into this book I knew little to nothing about Napoleon. Literally, aside from knowing that
He also consistently talked down to the reader, which I thought was rich considering this was obviously not a book for beginners or meant to be an introduction to the period as the blurb on the back might lead you to think, but a book written for fellow history buffs like this guy was. He also was pretty denigrating to any theories that didn't agree with what he thought about what happened during the period. The negativity at times was a bit of a turn off.
To his credit he did have a great sense of humor, and in a very droll way had you laughing once in a while as he relayed some anecdote about Napoleon or his battles. And, once he started going back and explaining in a little more detail stuff he said before, it got to be pretty interesting. And, I admit, I did walk away with a basic understanding of what had occurred during that time frame. In the regency era novels I read after reading this book I had a much better grasp of just what was being discussed about the men "serving abroad" during the regency and just what they must have went through serving in Egypt, in Russia, in Spain and at Waterloo.
That being said, that knowledge was hard won. I would recommend you keep looking for a book that gives a more "user friendly" approach to introducing the average reader to the age of napoleon. This book is not meant for light reading!
I will tell you this up front. Going into this book I knew little to nothing about Napoleon. Literally, aside from knowing that
Show More
he was a dictator, that he was considered a bad guy, and that the Louisiana Purchase was due to him, I knew nothing else. That stood to be to my detriment in attempting to read this book. It assumed you knew the basics, that you had read the cliffnotes on his life, or that you had a basic historical background in all of Napoleon's battles and activities during this period, which I did not. Following these chapters was almost impossible, and at times I was very lost and caught myself re-reading pages to see what I could have missed.He also consistently talked down to the reader, which I thought was rich considering this was obviously not a book for beginners or meant to be an introduction to the period as the blurb on the back might lead you to think, but a book written for fellow history buffs like this guy was. He also was pretty denigrating to any theories that didn't agree with what he thought about what happened during the period. The negativity at times was a bit of a turn off.
To his credit he did have a great sense of humor, and in a very droll way had you laughing once in a while as he relayed some anecdote about Napoleon or his battles. And, once he started going back and explaining in a little more detail stuff he said before, it got to be pretty interesting. And, I admit, I did walk away with a basic understanding of what had occurred during that time frame. In the regency era novels I read after reading this book I had a much better grasp of just what was being discussed about the men "serving abroad" during the regency and just what they must have went through serving in Egypt, in Russia, in Spain and at Waterloo.
That being said, that knowledge was hard won. I would recommend you keep looking for a book that gives a more "user friendly" approach to introducing the average reader to the age of napoleon. This book is not meant for light reading!
Show Less
LibraryThing member vguy
Best history book I've read for some years. Broad lines of Boney's blaze are of course familiar, but seldom so well told. Great range and compression of info, including hilarious character sketches of Europe's decadent royals, survey of the main political philosophies of the time ( brilliantly
Show More
funny summary of Malthus and his 14 children!) and his impact on far-flung continents that he never went near. While nailing Nappy as an unprincipled opportunist, he also shows his energy and, not least, his prose style as elements in his success. But his eventual downfall was equally inevitable. Still remains amazing that anyone would come to his call after losing three armies. Show Less