Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny

Scholars, Francophiles, and lovers of military history will welcome this comprehensive yet highly readable narrative of the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821). Volume 1 in a projected two-part series, this biography is the first in any language to make use of new archival material currently being compiled by the Foundation Napoleon in Paris. Historian Broers, the author of six other works on Napoleon and his era, including Europe Under Napoleon, traces the story of the famous conqueror from his Corscian boyhood to the emergence of the Third Coalition in 1806. While other biographies rely on perceptions of Napoleon left by his contemporaries, Broers takes a decidedly psychological slant, asking, for example, "Did success bring out latent aspects of his (Napoleon's) character, or did it engender new ones?" Broers presents his subject as a multifaceted character determined to rise in the world; self-disciplined, energetic, ambitious, optimistic, and ever alert to opportunities for advancement. The author also shows how Napoleon was haunted by the classical past and alternately guided by the ghosts of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Octavian/Augustus, portraying Napoleon as a "powerful creative force" in the life of Europe and as a man who "made the new language of liberty work." Rooted in the most recent secondary scholarship, the narrative is enriched with maps, images, and lithographs.