Subjects:  1. 1755-1793    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. France    7. France - History    8. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    9. Historical - General    10. History    11. Louis XVI, 1774-1793    12. Marie Antoinette,    13. Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France,    14. Queens    15. Royalty    16. Women    17. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography And Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Europe - France    6. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    7. Historical - General    8. Biography: historical    9. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    10. France    11. History / France   

Editorial Review

In the past, Antonia Fraser's bestselling histories and biographies have focused on people and events in her native England, from Read more

Reviews (67)

Great Read
This book was wonderful to read!! I even read it a second time a few weeks later, excellent!

best biography I have read
wonderful work of history, takes the reader beyond the myth and caricature of Marie Antoinette, to reveal a complex, very interesting queen. Not a dull moment in the book.

Another soap opera
There is no doubt that Antonia Fraser's "The Journey" is written in the author's usual wry, witty and highly engaging style (although I must say that I never before heard of sex described as "lugubrious.") There is also no doubt that Fraser has done a great deal to redeem Marie-Antoinette's shredded reputation by accurately describing her as being compassionate to the hardships of the French people. The book is full of vivid detail which makes it very readable. However, I was disappointed to see that Fraser resorts to many popular misconceptions. For one thing, why does Fraser act like Marie Antoinette was the only princess to be sent away from home as a teenager to seal a dynastic marriage? What about Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst (Catherine the Great) who was also a young stranger in a foreign land? This sort of thing happened all the time - it was what being a princess was all about. I was glad that Fraser did not fall into the myth of Louis XVI's impotence/ phimosis and surgery and all that. She simplistically portrays him as being asexual, which was not true, because he told his aunt after consummating his marriage that he enjoyed "it." But never has any other biographer subjected the reader to the spectacle of Fersen and the queen fiddling withprimitive prophylactics while consummating their grand passion. I must say, it is a first. Fraser insists that Marie Antoinette slept with Fersen for many years and yet gives no solid proof, while at the same time maintaining that she was a woman of high moral character. I usually do not think of a woman who is shared by both a lover and a husband as having a high moral character, but I guess Fraser does. Oh, well. It is such romantic fantasies that turn this book into more of a soap opera than a serious biography. I found it absurd when Fraser insists that the tormented queen of France was ultimately a martyr for the cause of the socialism and democracy which the French people now enjoy. If the queen had had her way, her descendant would be reigning today, and that is just the reality of it. For a better study of Marie Antoinette's relationship with her husband, I would recommend Vincent Cronin's "Louis and Antoinette." As for better biographies of the queen, let me join some fellow reviewers in the hope that the works of Delorme and Bertieres will soon be available in English. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1755-1793    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Europe - France    7. France    8. France - History    9. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    10. Historical - General    11. Marie Antoinette,    12. Queen, consort of Louis XVI, K    13. Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France,    14. Queens    15. Royalty    16. Women    17. Biography & Autobiography / General    18. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (8)

An Excellent Historic Insight
The sources of the global disasters that define the previous century are very rightly the subject of investigation. If anything should be, they should be. The Great War was the worst case scenario come true....and it's aftermath, a continuation of the 20th century nightmare. Burleigh certainly has a pivotal subject.
A Fascinating Account of the Conflict Between the Churches and the Modern Political Religions.
_Earthly Powers:The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe from the French Revolution to the Great War_ by British historian Michael Burleigh provides a fascinating history of the conflict which developed between the churches and the modernist political religions.Burleigh, whose previous work has focused on the Third Reich, builds upon the theories of émigré German philosopher Eric Voegelin, who argued that the modern day political religions constituted revivals of the Gnostic heresy.Voegelin was a conservative political philosopher who had escaped the German Third Reich and came to write on the political religions, especially communism and Nazism, the two great totalitarianisms of the Twentieth Century.Burleigh also notes the importance of Raymond Aron, who spoke of the "opium of the intellectuals" in their zeal for totalitarian systems.The use of the term "totalitarian" has proven problematic for many historians, particularly Marxists who seem to believe that communism did not constitute the sort of evil to be found in Nazism (the universal "bad guy").Burleigh rejects these Marxist notions arguing instead that totalitarianism remains a useful category.
DeftBritish Analysis
Earthly Powers has an easy command of sources and a deft, arch presentation typical of British writers. If one enjoys the writing in the TLS, one will enjoy this book.The vocabulary is not at all taxing, and unlike recondite theory jargon, spices the text without obscuring its meaning. In addition,this raises a topic not mentioned since J.L.Talmon's controversial discussion of revolution and totalitarianism.
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Subjects:  1. Christianity - History - General    2. Christianity and politics    3. Church history    4. Europe    5. Europe - General    6. Europe - History    7. General    8. History    9. History - General History    10. Religion    11. Religion And Politics    12. Religion, Politics & State    13. History / General   

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Artists, Architects, Photographers    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Europe - France    5. Historical - General    6. Individual Artist    7. Individual Painters - 19th Century    8. Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers    9. Europe    10. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    11. France; art; French Revolution; historian    12. Individual artists   

Reviews (39)

The BEST!!
Simon Schama's "Citizens" is one of the best acccounts of the French Revolution by a modern scholar. And I mean, truly great scholarship is involved in this book - it is not a coffee table book by some romantic pop historian. Yet, it is not dry but a thrilling account, which shatters many politically correct preconceptions and misconceptions about the Revolution which set the stage for the birth of the modern world. Schama explores the politics of demonization used as psychological warfare. The people who stood in the way of the triumph of the Revolution, from Marie Antoinette to the peasants of the Vendee, were first dehumanized and then destroyed. Schama does not spare our sensibilities as he shows that Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity were built upon lies, murder, and one of the most ruthless power struggles in the history of politics. I highly recommend this book for students of history and anyone interested in understanding how we got to where we are now.

Rich, Magisterial History of the French Revolution
This book was given to me as a gift in 1989.I'm ashamed to say that I only just completed reading it. Several times I tried, only to get bogged down somewhere in the first 50 pages.
A Tremendous Performance
Citizens is a truly wonderful example of narrative historical writing - a "tremendous performance", to borrow a favourite expression of Simon Schama. The author prefers a more old-fashioned interpretation of the French revolution, which presents the revolution as a drama and focuses on the characters that determine the unravelling of the plot. This choice provides the book with the memorable stories, such as the royal family's comically feckless flight from Paris in 1791, that make it such a delightful read. It is a liberating experience to find a general historical survey that does away with the conventional, stultifying analytical distinctions between economic, social and political factors. Instead, the reader can interact directly - as well as chronologically, which makes it easy to dip in and out of - with the actors and the events without having to navigate around tedious discussions of causal significance or complex arguments with other historians.
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Subjects:  1. 1789-1799, Revolution    2. Bargain Books    3. Europe - France    4. France    5. History    6. History - General History    7. Revolution, 1789-1799    8. History / France   

Reviews (10)

Typical pop biography
I never thought of Carolly Erickson as a first rate biographer, even though her "Bloody Mary" some years ago met with some critical acclaim. However, since her pulp novel "Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette" hit the shelves, I have lost all confidence in her as a historian. I read "To the Scaffold" and at first found it charming, with the loveliness of the young queen brought to life but then it descends intothe same old cliche. The beautiful queen with the fat, indifferent husband who takes a lover out of boredom - this does not match with the information we are given about Marie-Antoinette in her letters to her mother and in the memoirs of those who knew her. Erickson chose sensationalism over facts. Anything to make a buck....

Poor, spoiled Marie
This biography of Marie Antionette is well-written, well-researched, and quite enjoyable.It portrays Antoinette with as many personality facets as most of have: at times naive, sheltered, spoiled, lonely, materialistic, prideful, humble, cunning, generous... it doesn't show her as the evil Queen that the French made her out to be, nor does it try to show her as purely a victim.(Although, I do pity her unfortunate match with the young Dauphin, Louis XIV - yick!)
Really interesting....
This was a very interesting, very detailed description of Marie Antoinette.This is the first historical book on the subject that I've read, but I definitely want to find out what happened after the end of the book.I always liked history as a kid, and this book has reopened that facination. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1755-1793    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. France    6. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    7. General    8. History    9. Louis XVI, 1774-1793    10. Marie Antoinette,    11. Queen,    12. Queen, consort of Louis XVI, K    13. Queen, consort of Louis XVI, King of France,    14. Queens    15. consort of Louis XVI, King of    16. Marie Antoinette   

Editorial Review

You won't come away from this energetic biography thinking much of the French emperor either as a man or as a general. Historian Alan Schom depicts Napoleon (1769-1821) as a cold-hearted manipulator: Schom's blistering accounts of the 1798-99 Egyptian campaign and the disastrous 1812 retreat from Russia show the French army decimated due to its leader's failure to inform himself about the lands he was invading or to properly plan for provisioning his troops. The fun of this book comes from vigorous prose that vividly evokes Bonaparte's titanic personality and the colorful band of schemers surrounding him. ... Read more

Reviews (93)

French glory is always preferable to the truth eh?
Napoleon was a butcher, the Hitler of his age.Three million dead from the armies or europe, millions more forced into his armies and taken from their homes, only to return mangled both physically andmentally.He created a police state, with a vast internal spy network, with no real freedom, his enemies siezed and executed.He stole and extorted from everyone, particularly his own people.He destroyed the entire economy of europe and particularly France.He reintroduced slavery to France's colonies.He turned a potential democracy into a dictatorship and used his power for his own glory and enrichment without a thought to the death and destruction he left in his wake.He routinely executed prisoners of war, and despite repeated pleadings from his docotrs, he never established even the most basic care for the wounded, allowing them to die in the ditches and fields where they fell - nothing to him anymore.He lied incessently and constantly overstated his victories and his role in them. He was a coward and deserted his armies at least three times (Egypt, Russia, Waterloo) and in the end he lost far more than he won.
Poorly written
After several attempts, I gave up on this book at about page 20. It reads like a high school book report.

ugly but decent
I agree with the basic points of other reviewers: this book is extremely biased against Napoleon even though the author proclaims himself neutral; the maps are inadequate; and the treatment of psychology and motivation is shallow.I want to add that the writing style is primitive, poorly edited, with awkward grammar, sometimes confusing basic points.It reads like the work of an amateur scholar.The author is in command of his facts but not of his story.Nonetheless, the facts are there, and the inherent quality of the subject matter makes up for bad craftsmanship.This a readable book, though not a great one.Somebody tell us if another book is better: McLynn?Tulard? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1769-1821    2. 1789-1794    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Corsica (France)    7. Emperor of the French,    8. France    9. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    10. Historical - General    11. History    12. Military    13. Napoleon    14. Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815    15. Political    16. Biography: historical    17. European history: c 1750 to c 1900   

Editorial Review

"Never was any such event so inevitable yet so completely unforeseen."Alexis de Tocqueville's 19th-century assessment of the French Revolution echoes the contemporary reaction to the monumental events that took place over 200 years ago.Christopher Hibbert's superb historical narrative Read more

Reviews (25)

Well Researched Book
In "The Days of the French Revolution", Christopher Hibbert related the chilling story of the French Revolution, highlighting the roles of the leading characters that shaped events during this period. Among these people were Robespierre, Murat, Danton, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte and others.
Good read on the Topic
I read this book because we were taking a trip to France and I wanted to learn some of the history about Paris in particular.The book does a good job of highlighting the significant events that led to the uprisings in France in the late 18th century, so it's worth the read.I thought the writing could have been a bit more organized - for example, the first reference to the Revolutionary Tribunal appears in the middle of paragraph in a less than concise sentence, and only later do you realize how important that topic is.I had to keep flipping back to remind myself of what the key political parties stood for, although the glossary was usually helpful there.Also, the final chapters are much more detailed about personalities, rather than events, going so far as to describe who wore what color clothes on what occasions ("On the morning of that day Robespierre dressed himself with even more than his accustomed care in a bright blue coat and buff cotton trousers").It seemed that the final chapters could have used some editing.But, overall, recommended.

Great Place to Start
I wanted to read about the French Revolution, and began with "Citizens," by Simon Schama.It is a fine book, but I got bogged down in the details, and was losing the essence of the events.300 pages in, and still going through the details of the economic environment, I put down "Citizens" and picked up Hibbert's book.It was beautifully written, and quite consistent with the highly-academic "Citizens."But, frankly, Hibbert was much more enjoyable to read.
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Subjects:  1. 1789-1799, Revolution    2. Europe - France    3. France    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: American    7. Military - General    8. Revolution, 1789-1799    9. History / Military / General   

Reviews (1)

More Contemporary Political Soap Box Than History
Francois Furet delves deep beneath the surface of events that shaped the French Revolution as an historical event, to convey what he believes is a need for a conceptual analysis that refutes the "dominant" Marxist interpretations of the 1970's. Furet, who hails from the so called third generation of Annales School historians, was one of a few daring French scholars that attempted to bring political history back into a paradigm that was dominated by social, economic, and qualitative history in the post-World War II decades. Admitting that before any scholarship on the French Revolution can be taken seriously, an historian must first " show his colors,"...i.e....declare his political stand. Endorsing the earlier works of Alexis de Tocqueville and Augustin Cochin, Furet points to the substantial Socialist element that has existed in his homeland, and argues: the one trait that was unique to the French Revolution, was the fact that it was the first experiment with democracy. The result is a valiant political stand but a puzzling historical analysis.The book consists of four essays written at various times from 1971 to 1978. In "The Revolution is Over", Furet counters the Marxist argument that the French Revolution was the model for future Communists political uprisings, or liberations, specifically, the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Furet admits there were similarities between Joseph Stalin and Robespierre, Stalin's purges and the Terror, and Napoleon Bonaparte and Leon Trotsky, however, he emphasizes that the "Revolutionary Break" which separated the old from the contemporary French histories, ended at 9 Thermidor with absolute power coming full circle, this time, in the hands of society. In the process, Furet attempts to get to the root of such concepts as: "revolutionary ideology," and it relationship to "plot," and how the opinions of individuals transformed the "conscious will" of French society into conscious acts. In the second part of the book, Furet critiques the standard cause and effect history of Tocqueville and the "traditionalist" political history of the French Revolution as penned by Cochin. These historiographical essays are perhaps the strongest part of the book, and most beneficial to serious students of this era, yet overall, the book can be confusing to readers who are not extremely well versed in the history of the French Revolution. Furet's fragmented literary style (Undoubtedly, much has been lost in translation), and the absence of an index; makes the book exceedingly hard to follow. The author makes a number of interesting points, however, his contentions are scattered and do not flow evenly. Furet admits that the second part of the book was written first and perhaps would have made for an easier read had it been published in that order. Furet gears his analysis to an audience who is highly versed in this topic. Overall, the book utilizes an historical event to make a contemporary political stand against Marxism by a contemporary French historian. Not recommended for the beginner. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1876-1916    2. Causes    3. Causes and character    4. Cochin, Augustin,    5. Europe - France    6. Europe - General    7. France    8. Historiography    9. History    10. History - General History    11. History: World    12. Revolution, 1789-1799    13. Europe    14. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    15. France--History--Revolution, 1789-1799--Causes and character    16. History / Europe / General    17. c 1700 to c 1800    18. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

A Librarie's Best Kept Secret
This was not the best book I have ever read,but it was one of those surprise books that jump out at you on the bookshelf as an interestingI cannot put it down read.It was insightful and interesting as well as enjoyable and I would recommend this book to basically anyone young or old. Kudos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. France    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Reference    7. Revolution, 1789-1799    8. Europe    9. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    10. Revolutions & coups   

Reviews (5)

A mirror of history....
A well researched and well written book on the life of Maximilien Robespierre.Considering the limited amount of information available on the subject, I found this book to be rather informative and not just another recycled version of an older book.Ruth Scurr delves into the conflicted mind of Robespierre and examines the French revolutionary's descent from man of the people to murderous tyrant.An excellent look at one of history's most misunderstood, yet fearful, figures.A fine example to anyone interested in understanding the value of using terror tactics in supplanting dictatorial rule.

Nice Style, Nothing New
I guess it all depends on what you want from a book about history. For me, a biography of someone who's already had any number of biographies really has to tell us something we didn't already know. This one doesn't. So I guess if you're the sort of person who's never seen another book about Robespierre, you'll find this story, well-told as it is, fascinating. But I could point you to five other books, some very old, that tell the same story just as well. And if some of the reviewers here can come away from it with the impression that Robespierre was "corrupt" in some material sense, then it really isn't making its central point of his "fatal purity" very clearly, is it?

Brilliant and moving
Excellent biography/history, well-written, covers ground not covered in other books on the French Revolution.Much food for thought written in an enjoyable style.Mao Tse Tung was famously asked during the 1970's what he thought the significance of the French Revolution was and replied, "It's too soon to tell".Read this book and find out why he was right. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1758-1794    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. France    7. Historical - General    8. History    9. Revolution, 1789-1799    10. Revolutionaries    11. Robespierre, Maximilien,   

Reviews (6)

Excellent history, well written, interesting, a focus on character.
This is an excellent book, well written, clear and concise. It focuses on the Year of the Terror during the French Revolution.
An amazing book!
This may have been the best book that I have ever read. Palmer does a great job of portraying the characters, the times, and the decisions they made. The last chapter is absolutely riveting. One of if not the best book I've ever read!

Insightful Book about a Little Understood Time
In my college Western Civilization course years ago, we read a speech Robespierre gave during a festival created by the revolutionary government.After discussing this speech for a while, we passed on to Napoleon, but before we did, one student asked the professor for recommendations for further reading on the Reign of Terror.He mentioned Twelve Who Ruled.I didn't run out and buy the book, but I did keep in the back of my mind, and whenever I browsed the history shelves of a bookstore or library, I kept an eye out for it.Several years later, I ran across the book and, after reading it, I am quite glad that I did.Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Comite de salut public    3. Comitâe de salut public    4. Convention nationale    5. Convention nationale.    6. Europe - France    7. France    8. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    9. France.    10. History    11. History - General History    12. History: World    13. Revolution, 1789-1799    14. Revolutionaries    15. European History    16. History / France   

Subjects:  1. 1736-1806    2. 17th-18th Century Architecture    3. Architecture    4. Criticism and interpretation    5. Individual Architect    6. International Architecture - European    7. Ledoux, Claude Nicolas,    8. Non-Classifiable    9. Nonfiction    10. Architecture / Individual Architect    11. France/Architecture    12. French Revolution    13. Individual architects    14. Ledoux, Claude-Nicolas   

Reviews (10)

A Classic
The French Revolution is among the most important events that shaped world history. A lot has been written about it and Alexis de Tocqueville is among the most interesting and insightful writers on the subject.
It's Tocqueville.What More Can I Say?
A fascinating, thorough, and in-depth analysis of the French Revolution.A must-read for any history student.

Good Book, But Not a History
I give this book four stars.It is a fascinating investigation into the political and cultural environment in France that led up to the revolution.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. History - General History    3. History / France   

Reviews (8)

Brief and to the Point
This is a brief and insightful book on the French Revolution. It gives a good broad overview of the Revolution and its wider repercussions since then. The author did a commendable job of producing an excellent brief account which should suffice for those who need the basics and not interested in the details of the grisly executions, bloodletting and campaigns by French armies against the coalitions pitied against it.
Excellent introduction to the subject.Road map to further readings
This is an excellent short intro about the French Revolution.Mr. Doyle has written several longer books about this subject, but this VSI is not a condensed version of his other books.Rather, his approach to trace the origin, process, results, and impact of the event provides both a very clear flow of what has happened and why they are important.Must read if you want to get basic understanding of the subject, and open the door for further readings if you want to.

Everything the title says it is
I majored in history in college, and already had learned a fair amount about the French Revolution, if mainly from it being mentioned peripherally in almost every course I took dealing with the period that came after the Revolution. So a lot of the names of the principal actors and the various groups like the sans-culottes and girondistes were already known to me beforehand.
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Subjects:  1. Europe - France    2. France    3. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. Revolution, 1789-1799    8. Revolutionary    9. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    10. History / France    11. History, World | European | France    12. Revolutions & coups    13. Social history    14. c 1700 to c 1800   

Reviews (3)

Well balanced compilation of causes
Compilation of theses on the cause of the French Revolution ranging from Hobsbawm's neo-Marxist view and Tackett's neo-Liberal stance to the revisionism of Colin Lucas.Numerous different theories that caused the beginning of the end of monarchial rule.Each thesis is presented by a well-renown scholar in the area of the French Revolution who provide their unique view of the cause. A well balanced presentation of the subject used as an in-depth study.

Theories of revolution, revolutions of theory
J.M.Roberts notes in another book called "The French Revolution", "In one comprehensible sense the French Revolution is no longer a historical subject, for it can no longer be understood and explained as a unified and cohesive whole even by specialists. Scholars must specialize within the events we call `the Revolution' and even then they will find it hard to keep up with the flood of relevant publications." Excellent & Balanced Survey of Revolutionary Debates
When I first studied the French Revolution in a high school history class, I was trying to figure out the "what" of the Revolution - what happened, what didn't.If there's anything that this anthology drove home, it's thatthe "how," "why," "for what purpose," and "so what" of the Revolution arethe much more difficult, important, and decidedly interesting questions. As Francois Furet once implied in an essay anthologized in this anthology,the French Revolution is complicated not simply because it was a series ofcomplicated events, but especially because it was hard to understand andinterpret.Why did the Revolution start, who started it, and why?Was ita success or a failure - and what would either mean?What's absolutelywonderful about this anthology is that it gives every reader, PhD or highschool student, a survey of some of the most important interpretations anddebates occurring right now.Kates' introductions are very helpful insupporting the reader through some rather complicated arguments withoutbeing intrusive.The collection as a whole really helped me see somegeneral trends in the debates, and the politics behind them.While I don'tclaim to understand all French Revolution historiography now (I'm not thatsmart) this anthology was very useful in helping me sort out who thinkswhat and (maybe more importantly to the gossip in me) why they think that. Really, an excellent work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization, Modern    2. Europe - France    3. France    4. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    5. French influences    6. Historians    7. Historiography    8. History    9. History - General History    10. History: World    11. Influence    12. Political and social views    13. Revolution, 1789-1799    14. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    15. History / General    16. Revolutions & coups    17. c 1700 to c 1800   

Editorial Review

Napoleon was poisoned! The academic elite hated this theory when Sten Forshufvud first introduced it in 1961, but over the years, working with experts across the globe, he built an increasingly forceful case that an assassin killed Napoleon with arsenic. Read more

Reviews (3)

Good book but a bit heavy
This book was not exactly what I expected.I thought it would be a focused look at the reason the authors thought that Napoleon was assassinated, but much of the text is actually his campaigns and political life.It almost seems that they were trying to make the book look big by adding information that you can easily read in other texts.I really thought this one was going to be different but it fell a little short in my opinion.

A masterpiece for history lovers and Napoleonic fans!
This formidable story brings us to the magnificent life of one of the greatest heroes ever existing on earth, and of his mysterious death. It all begins on a lavish sofa at Ajjacio, Corsica, on August 15th 1769,when thesecond child of the Buonaparte family was born.Then it continues with hisbecoming general, emperor of France, and conqueror of Europe, until hisdisastrous attack at Moscow, his abdication, the hundred days,and his exileto a little island in the middle of the Atlantic. It culminates with hispoisonment of arsenic and goes through a great detail in his last daysbefore his death.It expands new evidence of his intoxication behind themiserable and tragic life inside the walls of Longwood. Was he reallypoisoned? Who was really the culprit? How can the author be sure of that?Is there a possibility that Napoleon comitted suicide? You can find all ofit in this book. If you're a great admirer of thisEagle of France, I'msure you won't regret.

Compelling Story for True Crime and History Lovers
This is a wonderful book for anyone who likes history and/or true crime stories.It's amazing that so little has been known about Napoleon's last days, and that so little attention has been paid to such a wonderful bookthat seeks to explain Napoleon's demise.Through a mix of science andstory telling, Weider and Forshufvud weave a tale of intrigue and murder. Their analysis and conclusions are so compelling, and their evidence soconvincing, that it would seem impossible for anyone, after reading thisbook, to believe anything other than Napoleon was poisoned.As someone whois trained in these same forensic sciences and investigative principles,this is a fantastic and accurate book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1769-1821    2. Arsenic    3. Biography    4. Death and burial    5. Emperor of the French,    6. Emperors    7. Europe - France    8. France    9. France - History - Revolution And Napoleonic Empire (1789-1815)    10. History    11. History - General History    12. History: World    13. Napoleon    14. Poisoning    15. Saint Helena    16. Toxicology    17. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    18. History / France    19. Social history    20. World history: c 1750 to c 1900   

Reviews (42)

A controversial book that doesn't need to be
The reviews of this book are surprisingly critical.The book's short length forces generalizations about Napoleon which understandably bother his devotees, but I think that misses the point of this particular Napoleon book.
Napoleon made Stalin and Hitler possible?
The author presents Napoleon as brilliant opportunist hungry for power, who paved the way for other dictators even more horrible.This idea gives the book a cohesive sense of purpose, but, of course, no one can prove that if Napoleon had not been born that the Russians, for example, would not have had a Stalin -- after all they had some very terribly nasty Tsars before Napoleon's time.
The Father of Totalitarism
This is a book on how Napoleon shaped the XX century.