Napoleon

A Life

By: Andrew Roberts

Narrated by: John Lee

The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the New York Times best-selling author of The Storm of War.

Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: His battles are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was far more than a military genius and astute leader of men. Like George Washington and his own hero Julius Caesar, he was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all times.

Andrew Roberts's Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single best-selling book of the 19th century.

An award-winning historian, Roberts traveled to 53 of Napoleon's 60 battle sites, discovered crucial new documents in archives, and even made the long trip by boat to St. Helena. He is as acute in his understanding of politics as he is of military history. Here at last is a biography worthy of its subject: magisterial, insightful, beautifully written, by one of our foremost historians.

©2014 Andrew Roberts (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The pleasures of Roberts's big, richly detailed biography of the great French conqueror are enhanced in this outstanding audiobook production. John Lee is a steady and agreeable narrator, and a good choice for a work this long. Based on the recent full publication of the 33,000 letters Napoleon wrote in his lifetime, the narrative offers a close-up and largely sympathetic view of one of history's most interesting, accomplished, and - yes - likable personalities. Lee maintains the fine balance between intimacy and perspective, as well as between Napoleon's current and former reputation, to make this one of the stellar histories and audiobook adaptations of this year." ( AudioFile)

Info-packed history that stresses the contingency of Napoleon’s success

First the “negative”: this book packs an enormous amount of facts with every sentence, and the reader is even enough that you could easily miss a major event or shift because it was read in the same tone as less important details. I’ve had to rewind repeatedly to catch something major that was mentioned for two seconds. I wonder if it is something inherent in the source material, or whether it could have been read with fluctuating emphasis.

However, the book is a huge treasure of information about every major part of Napoleon’s trajectory. I have listened to every chapter with interest, and am glad to have bought it. Fans of detailed battle plans will enjoy this, as will fans of historical writing that doesn’t glorify the human agency of the hero in question, choosing instead to point out at every turn that circumstances could have pushed the course of history is a different direction.

I agree

One of the reviews I read about Andrew Roberts' Napoleon was that it's a biography to make people like biographies. I agree! The writing is approachable and consummate. I recommend it to any who want to begin a path down historical biographies.

A British Pro-Napoleon Novel!

No book about Napoleon is perfect. But Andrew Roberts and John Lee make a really good effort to present a view of Napoleon that corrects past faulty prejudice towards him. You will appreciate the great general more than you ever thought possible. He was really a fighter!

Really good.

Well spoken from a seemingly well written book. Perfect amount of depth on each subject.

A magnificent journey through the life of a giant

“It took the wealth of the British empire, the armies of the European continent and nearly 20 years to bring down one the greatest military leaders in human history”

Andrew Roberts does a masterful job of navigating the listener through the life of Napoleon. His descriptions of the battles make you feel as if you are there with Napoleon; from the stunning victory at Austerlitz to his eventual defeat at Waterloo. The narrator does a wonderful job with French pronunciations and altering his voice when he quotes Napoleon.
A fantastic listen to anyone interested in the life of Napoleon.

I didn't want to stop listening.

Andrew Roberts is the most compelling historian I have ever read. His words, his subject, and John Lee's performance are equally transfixing.

Definitive Account

Incredibly thorough, detailed account of Napoleon's full life, his personal, political and military accomplishments-and failings. Well written, very well narrated, my first audiobook purchase was worth every penny. Highly recommended.

Detailed battle scenes

And since Napoleon was a military genius, these scenes make up a good chunk of the book, but there is plenty of personal information as well.

Excellent overview of Napoleon's life & career

This is a great overview of Napoleon's life and career. Given the scope of the topic the details of specific battles and campaigns are very high-level, but the book provides an excellent primer on the conflict from Napoleon's perspective. It also provides some insight into Napoleon's character and the breadth of his impact on France. Highly recommended.

Interesting - a lot of information not boring

What did you love best about Napoleon?

This story gives an in depth and probably objective vision about Napoleon, his live, what he reached - where he failed. It's well read too.