Napoleon

A Life

By: Adam Zamoyski

Narrated by: Leighton Pugh

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.

Critic reviews

"It is the outstanding merit of Adam Zamoyski's fine new biography, Napoleon: A Life, that he insists on treating his subject as neither a superman nor a monster, but as a creature of his troubled age...Zamoyski gives us...a vivid sense of Napoleon as a protean chancer, outwardly self-confident as any man who ever lived, inwardly always wondering when his 'star' would finally set."—New York Review of Books

"Zamoyski...attempts to cut through the fantasy and retrospective exaggeration to tell the story of an extraordinary, but certainly not superhuman life.... Napoleon emerges from Mr. Zamoyski's book a willful, self-made opportunist...gifted, energetic, brave, lucky, but also a bit ridiculous."—Wall Street Journal

"Magnificent...Napoleon was neither demon nor deity. He was a man, with great talents and great flaws, often intertwined...[Mr. Zamoyski] writes beautifully."—Economist

"Zamoyski tells the personal side of Napoleon's life...his hopes, his dreams, his self-doubts."—New York Journal of Books

"Zamoyski's book is one of the finest biographies of Napoleon Bonaparte ever written."—MHQ: Quarterly Journal of Military History

"A lifetime's diligent research and profound thinking about Napoleon and his times has gone into this hugely readable, highly enjoyable and well-balanced biography. Zamoyski is at the top of his game as a biographer."—Andrew Roberts, Visiting Professor, Department of War Studies, King's College, London

"A biography of Napoleon Bonaparte that avoids the well-established military details and gives us the story of a singular man...Illuminating."—Kirkus

"Engaging and highly readable.... An inclusive life of a historical dynamo."—Washington Times

"Adam Zamoyski's 700-plus-page but very readable Napoleon: A Life...shows how France's tired post-revolutionary leaders in 1796 recognized they were riding a tiger---but didn't expect him to eat them."—World Magazine

"A superb history of a complicated man and time."—Choice

A success in all respects, rivaling Andrew Roberts's Napoleon: A Life in astuteness and thoroughness.... The picture that emerges is of an extraordinarily gifted leader who increasingly sought short-term gain at the expense of long-term stability.... Exhaustively researched and engagingly written."—Library Journal, starred review

"Napoleon is an out and out masterpiece and a joy to read."—Sir Antony Beevor, author of Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege

Great historical title

I knew quote a bit about Napoleon, but this book filled in many gaps in my knowledge about the emperor of France. I knew how it would end, but the ride through Napoleon's life was still a great adventure. a good listen for serious history fans and anyone else looking to learn about Napoleon.

An incredible life, well told and well performed

What an incredible life of a most wilful person, modernizing France, infrastructure as well as institutions. A bridge between divine right and man of the people. I think like many geniuses, complex and contradictory. He is able to rationalize any point of view if it suits the desired outcome.

Breathtaking in scale, research, and performance!

I wish there were 6 stars to give this audio book. I enjoyed every last minute of it, 27+ hours and I wish it were longer, this is one of the best audio books I've ever experienced, The hard-to-believe story of Napoleon's life is on full display here, in all it's glory and tragedy. Anyone interested in his life will be happy to have this book as part of their library.

Adams Zamoyski's research and writing is perfectly done, and the narration of Leighton Pugh is masterful, this was a complete joy to listen to.

Fantastic

this book is a wonderful introduction to Napoleon the legend and force. I found it very easy to follow and incredibly informative. The material is solid and the narrator does a wonderful job with names and places in multiple languages. If you are interested in learning about the Corsican who made himself a general at 26 and later an emperor, read it!

Thank you for a super great book

Thank you for discovering so much interesting life stories about an extraordinarily man as Napoleon...