A short, concise history of a man I knew little about. I'm not well-versed on European history in general, so there were a lot of names and places I had to look up just so I was familiar. However, the picture of Napoleon painted here was thorough, giving a glimpse of his childhood, his military career, and his political/imperial career; ending with his exile. This is a great primer for people like me who knew very little of Napoleon but want a broad, unbiased picture. ( )

Johnson does a great job in less than 200 pages, finishing with an unexpected twist. (No, Napoleon is not still alive:)
Just what I wanted. ( )

Fascinating biography of Napoleon Bonaparte. Well written introduction to the leader who seems to dominate 19th century military and European history. ( )

Paul Johnson’s “Napoleon” a Penguin Life is an excellent extended treatise of the life, career and ramifications of Napoleon Bonaparte. Mr. Johnson does a truly superb job of not only describing Bonaparte’s roots, upbringing and idiosyncrasies but also his effect on the lives of those soldiers on the field during the Napoleonic Wars and the lives of soldiers and citizens in the late 19th century and beyond. Mr. Johnson explains rather succinctly how Bonaparte was the model for many of the state despots that were to turn their ugly heads in the 20th century, how they took the blueprint Bonaparte set down and ran with it. What I would have enjoyed were some pictures of many of the artistic Napoleonic inspired items Mr. Johnson speaks of but here I am simply splitting hairs. ( )

Not brilliant. The usual, British Napoleon bashing and "we saved the world from this tyrant". Still, I was looking for something brief and simple, and that is what I got.