Napoleon: A Life

Andrew Roberts's biography of Napoleon Bonaparte draws on the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, offering new insight into his character and motivations. The work covers his major battles—Austerlitz, Borodino, and Waterloo—while presenting him as more than a military commander: a soldier-statesman comparable to George Washington and Julius Caesar. Roberts examines Napoleon as a multitasker who was decisive, willing to forgive enemies, and devoted to his wife Josephine. The biography also discusses Napoleon's memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, which became the bestselling book of the nineteenth century. Roberts visited fifty-three of Napoleon's sixty battle sites and consulted newly discovered archival documents, including a journey to St. Helena itself. The work combines analysis of military history with political understanding. This is the first one-volume biography to incorporate the full body of Napoleon's letters.