Introduction

F ew people in human history are more recognizable than Napoleon Bonaparte. Go anywhere in the world, and you will find an image of him in a local museum, antiques related to him in the local shops, and maybe even a men’s store or some other retail space carrying the name “Napoleon.” Even the grocery store isn’t safe, as there is a brand of canned goods carrying his name and image. Starbucks, the famous coffee company, uses Napoleon in some of its advertising, and, of course, there is Courvoisier Cognac, “The Cognac of Napoleon.” As I keep telling my wife, Barbara, “He’s everywhere!” And you know what? I think she’s finally starting to believe me!

And then there are the books. More books are written about Napoleon than about anyone else in history. Amazing, huh?

Okay, so Napoleon is a pretty big deal. But wasn’t he just some warmongering conqueror who was too short for his own good? Absolutely not. Napoleon was definitely a conqueror, but he was far more complex than that. It turns out that he was a very progressive force in history and a fascinating man to get to know “up close and personal.”

And that is what this book tries to do: give you a chance to get to know Napoleon the man. I tell you his life story, to be sure, but I also tell you about the forces that influenced his development and the forces with which he had to contend throughout his career. There is stuff on his battles but also on his many accomplishments and on his importance to our world today.

And I don’t forget his loves: I give you the inside story on his love affair and marriage to Josephine, why they divorced, why Napoleon then married an Austrian princess, why a beautiful young Polish woman threw herself at him . . . well, you get the idea.

If you’d like to get past some of the stereotypes and discover the real story of Napoleon, this is the book for you.

About This Book

This book gives you “everything you ever wanted to know about Napoleon but were afraid to ask.” I start from the beginning of his life and go to the end, giving you what I hope is a pretty exciting ride. Then I turn to a number of important elements of Napoleon’s storied career that are better dealt with by themselves, rather than squished into a chronological tale. His reforms of everything from the military to the law, his political genius, his problems with the British, his promotion of religious liberty, and his moves toward creating a united Europe: All are discussed herein.

Many people like to read the story of a person’s life from start to finish, and you can do that with this book. But you don’t have to. Fascinated with the Battle of Waterloo? Head straight to Chapter 15. Want to know more about Napoleon’s role in providing religious freedom for the Jews? Chapter 23 is for you. Heard that the Rosetta Stone was found by Napoleon’s soldiers in Egypt and want to know more? Head directly to Chapter 7. And so it goes. No matter how you choose to read this book, I think you’ll find it a very interesting story.

Oh, one more thing. There are lots of pictures in this book. They are all of engravings or other artifacts from the period or shortly thereafter, and all are from my private collection. Too many history books don’t show as well as tell, and I’m grateful to Wiley for making this truly a show-and-tell book.

Conventions Used in This Book

The short answer: not many. This isn’t a scientific book. There’s not much technical material and little in the way of Web sites. But there are a few things to keep in mind:

First, just what should we call this guy, anyway? His name in English is spelled Napoleon Bonaparte. Some historians call him Bonaparte until they discuss the period when he became emperor; then they call him Napoleon. To keep it simple, I pretty much always call him Napoleon. The original spelling of his last name was Buonaparte, but he got rid of that as soon as he really became somebody, so I use the spelling he preferred and that is most well-known.

I mention the 18th century and 19th century from time to time, so I’ll remind you that the 18th century is actually 1700–1799, and the 19th century is 1800–1899. Just subtract one number and you’ve got it.

There are some French words and phrases in the book, and the first time I use them I give English translations.

What You’re Not to Read

Listen, I wrote this whole book, so of course I think you should read and savor each and every word! But, okay, some words are more important than others. Some of the less important are

Sidebars: I’ve included a few sidebars that, while useful, are not critical to your understanding of the main points of the text.

Technical Stuff paragraphs: This isn’t a scientific or computer book, but some items are somewhat technical in nature. If you see a Technical Stuff icon next to a paragraph, you can skip it if you wish.

Foolish Assumptions

I wrote this book for people just like you!

You like history or biography but don’t really want to read 450 pages of small print on one person’s life.

You have heard of Napoleon but don’t know much about him and want to know more.

You may not know a lot about history, but you have heard of people like Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar.

You think that history can sometimes be dry and are hoping that this book will not put you to sleep. Well, I’m hoping that, too!

How This Book Is Organized

Napoleon is a giant in history, far too big to be devoured in one giant gulp. This book chops his life and accomplishments into six parts, allowing you to take it a little or a lot at a time, as you prefer. The first three parts are a more or less chronological look at his life, while the last three parts look at some of his specific accomplishments.

Part I: Beginnings

Anyone’s early life is key to his future development, and Napoleon’s birth on the island of Corsica was especially important to the directions he ultimately took. In this part, I first look at Napoleon’s overall importance, and then I trace how his early life and the French Revolution led to his moving into a position of prominence. And here is where you get the first installment of one of the great love stories (and some of Napoleon’s romances that preceded it).

Part II: Building an Empire

You probably already think of Napoleon as a conqueror who controlled much of Europe. But how did he get to that position? Here I take you with Napoleon to Italy and Egypt and then to France, where we watch him take control of the reins of government. Then we join him as he marches across Europe and wins some of history’s most famous battles.

Part III: Losing an Empire

Napoleon was a great military commander, but eventually his luck ran out. This part explains the forces and mistakes that led to his ultimate defeat and removal from power. If we followed him to glory, it’s only fair that we follow him to defeat and exile, and I conclude this part with his final days of life.

Part IV: A True Revolutionary

Napoleon was a brilliant person who had great dreams for progressive change. And in the few years he was in power, he was able to give many of those ideas a good start, anyway. This part shows his innovations in the military and talks about what he did to keep the French happy with him in charge. And how did he get from general to emperor, and what happened to Josephine, and just who was that Austrian princess? Tune in to this part for all those answers and more.

Part V: Influencing Nations: Diplomacy and Legacy

This part first looks at Napoleon’s relations with his greatest nemesis: Great Britain. It also looks at an unintended consequence of his control of Europe, nationalism, and how it both helped and hurt his cause (and the cause of a united Europe). Finally, I discuss one of Napoleon’s most important legacies, the concept of religious freedom, especially for the Jews.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

Wiley told me I “had” to put this part in here, but it was one of the most fun parts to do and, I hope, to read. Planning a trip to Europe? Don’t miss some of the battlefields and museums I describe in this part. Wish you could give some historical figure a piece of your mind? I do just that here, and it’s great fun. Want to know more about Napoleon? Good for you! This part offers some tips on where to look.

Appendixes

It’s always good to be able to see a person’s life and accomplishments in some sort of timeframe, and that’s what I do for you in the first appendix, a timeline of Napoleon’s life. Obviously, page limits mean that I can’t list everything he did. Some books out there actually follow his life day by day, hour by hour. Not this one. But I give you a good overview here.

In the second appendix, I provide two maps that offer visual evidence of Napoleon’s power as the Emperor of the French. In the first, you can see how much European territory Napoleon controlled at the height of his reign. In the second, I show you where Napoleon’s various military campaigns took him through the years.

Icons Used in This Book

I love the concept of icons, which to me are one of the really neat things about books For Dummies. I’ve selected three for this book:

This icon suggests that what you see here will be relevant elsewhere in the book, so you may want to file it away in the not-so-deep recesses of your mind.

The stuff that follows this icon is perhaps less important to your understanding of what is going on than other material may be. You can skip it (though frankly, I suggest you at least skim it).

This is my favorite! Napoleon is often seen as larger than life, as having his very own legend created around him. This icon suggests some of the elements that have become part of that legend — some negative, mostly positive.

Where to Go from Here

You can start anywhere you want, depending on your interests. Clearly, some people prefer to start at the beginning and move forward. If you do that, some of the chapters on Napoleon’s specific accomplishments may fall right into place. But maybe you prefer to read about, say, his Russian campaign and then go back and see how he got there and what happened next. Or maybe you want to read my advice to Napoleon in Chapter 25, and then check out the relevant chapters to see if you agree with me.

Whatever your preference, read on!