Author: Philip Dwyer Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 030016243X Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 817
Book Description
Traces Napoleon's rise to power, early mistakes, and military campaigns, while considering the emperor's darker side and the lengths to which he went to establish himself as a legitimate ruler.
Author: Philip Dwyer Publisher: A&C Black ISBN: 1408854694 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 792
Book Description
The first volume of a groundbreaking and innovative popular biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of history's most complex and charismatic leaders 'Remarkable ... a satisfying, psychologically convincing account of Napoleon's early years and ascent to power. Even-handed and authoritative, this fascinating and highly enjoyable book will be an eye opener even to those who think they know the subject well' Sunday Times 'We are clearly in the presence of what will be a monumental work ... meticulously researched and well-written' Andrew Roberts, Literary Review Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power was neither inevitable nor smooth; it was full of mistakes, wrong turns and pitfalls. During his formative years his identity was constantly shifting, his character ambiguous and his intentions often ill-defined. He was, however, highly ambitious, and it was this ruthless drive that advanced his career. This book examines the extraordinary evolution of Napoleon's character and the means by which at the age of thirty he became head of the most powerful country in Europe and skilfully fashioned the image of himself that laid the foundation of the legend that endures to this day.
Author: Margaret Thatcher Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN: 0062047892 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 486
Book Description
In her international bestseller, The Downing Street Years, Margaret Thatcher provided an acclaimed account of her years as Prime Minister. This second volume reflects on the early years of her life and how they influenced her political career.
Author: Steven Englund Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1439131074 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 602
Book Description
This sophisticated and masterful biography, written by a respected French history scholar who has taught courses on Napoleon at the University of Paris, brings new and remarkable analysis to the study of modern history's most famous general and statesman. Since boyhood, Steven Englund has been fascinated by the unique force, personality, and political significance of Napoleon Bonaparte, who, in only a decade and a half, changed the face of Europe forever. In Napoleon: A Political Life, Englund harnesses his early passion and intellectual expertise to create a rich and full interpretation of a brilliant but flawed leader. Napoleon believed that war was a means to an end, not the end itself. With this in mind, Steven Englund focuses on the political, rather than the military or personal, aspects of Napoleon's notorious and celebrated life. Doing so permits him to arrive at some original conclusions. For example, where most biographers see this subject as a Corsican patriot who at first detested France, Englund sees a young officer deeply committed to a political event, idea, and opportunity (the French Revolution) -- not to any specific nationality. Indeed, Englund dissects carefully the political use Napoleon made, both as First Consul and as Emperor of the French, of patriotism, or "nation-talk." As Englund charts Napoleon's dramatic rise and fall -- from his Corsican boyhood, his French education, his astonishing military victories and no less astonishing acts of reform as First Consul (1799-1804) to his controversial record as Emperor and, finally, to his exile and death -- he is at particular pains to explore the unprecedented power Napoleon maintained over the popular imagination. Alone among recent biographers, Englund includes a chapter that analyzes the Napoleonic legend over the course of the past two centuries, down to the present-day French Republic, which has its own profound ambivalences toward this man whom it is afraid to recognize yet cannot avoid. Napoleon: A Political Life presents new consideration of Napoleon's adolescent and adult writings, as well as a convincing argument against the recent theory that the Emperor was poisoned at St. Helena. The book also offers an explanation of Napoleon's role as father of the "modern" in politics. What finally emerges from these pages is a vivid and sympathetic portrait that combines youthful enthusiasm and mature scholarly reflection. The result is already regarded by experts as the Napoleonic bicentennial's first major interpretation of this perennial subject.
Author: Munro Price Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199380694 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 353
Book Description
On April 20, 1814, after a dizzying series of battles, campaigns, and diplomatic intrigues, a defeated Napoleon Bonaparte made his farewell speech to the Old Guard in the courtyard of the Chateau de Fontainebleau and set off for exile on the island of Elba. Napoleonic legend asserts that the Emperor was brought down by foreign powers determined to destroy him and discredit his achievements, with the aid of highly placed domestic traitors. Others argue that once Napoleon's military defeats began in 1812, his fall became inevitable. But in fact, as Munro Price shows in this brilliant new book, Napoleon's fall could have been avoided altogether. Exploring a critical and often neglected period of Napoleonic history between 1812 and 1814, Napoleon: The End of Glory offers a more complete picture of the Emperor's decline and fall than any previous work. Price analyzes the political, military, and diplomatic events of the period, from Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812 to the multiple failed attempts by Austria to broker peace. He illuminates the dynamic relationships between Napoleon and the wily Austrian foreign minister Metternich-whose desire for equilibrium within the European states system clashed with Napoleon's unshakeable belief in hegemony and subjection-and the charming and enigmatic Alexander I of Russia. And he explores the lasting impact of the bloody Terror of the French Revolution on Napoleon's decisions once he came to power. Rejecting the assumption that defeat was unavoidable, Price considers instead why Napoleon failed to explore a compromise peace that could have allowed him to keep his crown, arguing that the answer to this question has powerful implications for our understanding of the Napoleonic wars. Ultimately, Price provides a convincing portrait of the Emperor's decline, exposing his blindness, intransigence and miscalculations; his preference for war and his declining ability to wage it; and his nearly pathological fear of a dishonorable peace. A deeply researched study of the moment of a great man's fall, Napoleon: The End of Glory forces us to reconsider Napoleon's character, motives, and the reasons for his spectacular failure.
Author: Moisés Prieto Publisher: Taylor & Francis ISBN: 0429589069 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 184
Book Description
Between the mid-eighteenth and the mid-nineteenth century, the idea of dictatorship changed drastically, leaving back the ancient Roman paradigm and opening the way to a rule with extraordinary powers and which was unlimited in time. While the French Revolution produced an acceleration of history and created new narratives of dictatorship, with Napoleon Bonaparte as its most iconic embodiment, the Latin American struggle for independence witnessed an unprecedented concentration of rulers seeking those new nations’ sovereignty through dictatorial rule. Starting from the assumption that the age of revolution was one of dictators too, this book aims at exploring how this new type of rulers whose authority was no longer based on dynastic succession or religious consecration sought legitimacy. By unveiling the role of emotions – hope, fear and nostalgia – in the making of a new paradigm of rule and focusing on the narratives legitimizing and de-legitimizing dictatorship, this study goes beyond traditional conceptual history. For this purpose, different sources such as libels, history treatises, encyclopedias, plays, poems, librettos, but also visual material will be resorted to. This book is essential reading for scholars and students of modern history, the history of emotions, intellectual history, global history, cultural studies and political science.
Author: Ted Gott Publisher: ISBN: 9780724103553 Category : Art Languages : en Pages : 344
Book Description
This panoramic volume tells the story of French art, culture and life from the 1770s to the 1820s: the first French voyages of discovery to Australia, the stormy period of social change with the outbreak of the French Revolution, and the rise to power of the young Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Josephine.
Author: Janet M. Hartley Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1137528001 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 315
Book Description
Russia played a fundamental role in the outcome of Napoleonic Wars; the wars also had an impact on almost every area of Russian life. Russia and the Napoleonic Wars brings together significant and new research from Russian and non-Russian historians and their work demonstrates the importance of this period both for Russia and for all of Europe.
Author: Philip G. Dwyer Publisher: Berghahn Books ISBN: 0857452991 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
Massacres and mass killings have always marked if not shaped the history of the world and as such are subjects of increasing interest among historians. The premise underlying this collection is that massacres were an integral, if not accepted part (until quite recently) of warfare, and that they were often fundamental to the colonizing process in the early modern and modern worlds. Making a deliberate distinction between 'massacre' and 'genocide', the editors call for an entirely separate and new subject under the rubric of 'Massacre Studies', dealing with mass killings that are not genocidal in intent. This volume offers a reflection on the nature of mass killings and extreme violence across regions and across centuries, and brings together a wide range of approaches and case studies.
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Author: Philip Dwyer
Author: Philip Dwyer
Author: Margaret Thatcher
Author: Steven Englund
Author: Munro Price
Author: Moisés Prieto
Author: Ted Gott
Author: Charles Otto Zieseniss
Author: Janet M. Hartley
Author: Philip G. Dwyer