Napoleon

A Concise Biography

By: David A. Bell

Narrated by: Paul Heitsch

Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

This book provides a concise, accurate, and lively portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte's character and career, situating him firmly in historical context.

David Bell emphasizes the astonishing sense of human possibility - for both good and ill - that Napoleon represented. By his late 20s, Napoleon was already one of the greatest generals in European history. At 30, he had become absolute master of Europe's most powerful country. In his early 40s, he ruled a European empire more powerful than any since Rome, fighting wars that changed the shape of the continent and brought death to millions. Then everything collapsed, leading him to spend his last years in miserable exile in the South Atlantic.

Bell emphasizes the importance of the French Revolution in understanding Napoleon's career. The revolution made possible the unprecedented concentration of political authority that Napoleon accrued and his success in mobilizing human and material resources. Without the political changes brought about by the revolution, Napoleon could not have fought his wars. Without the wars, he could not have seized and held onto power. Though his virtual dictatorship betrayed the ideals of liberty and equality, his life and career were revolutionary.

©2015 Oxford University Press (P)2018 Tantor

Great Summary, good narration

Read this book in anticipation of watching the upcoming movie about Napoleon. Author managed to give a really good overview without being too anti or pro-Napoleon. The narration was very well done.

Great introduction to Napoleon

Very concise, timely and a joy to listen to with recent research and conceived by a respected scholar.

Great concise history of Napoleon

I feel that this book did a fine job of hitting the important moments in Napoleon’s life and tying them into the happenings that impacted and were impacted by his actions.

The narration was will done and very clear and easily followed.

I will recommend it to others as this history helps us understand how it shapes our present realities.

High level overview. Enough for casual interest.

Well narrated. Great for casual interest in Napoleon. Will likely leave some wanting more. Worth the time and enjoyable.

Biographical stories make history memorable

I’m rating this audible book very high because I gained a better understanding of European history through Napoleon’s biography. I am surprised and saddened by the tragedies his lust for power caused, Napoleon was a complicated person, and had much potential. It was all wasted on war; so much death and destruction. Yes, he changed the course of history dramatically. And the author was able to find lasting good in some of what Napoleon accomplished. But the man is not one I would honor. He was brilliant when it came to waging war, but this story goes into many horrible details of his influence. Urging his men to loot, rape and torture those he conquered is unforgivable. Here is a good but troubling biography, especially because we are witnessing very similar world events today.

Talk about a book with great information and no waste

This book was extremely informative without any waste or over explanation, loved it straight into the point and interesting

Sound

This sounded like it was read by an AI bot. Quite banal read. But very good and brief story.

Concise and Digestible

This audiobook provides the perfect narrative for anyone looking to understand Napoleon's life. The narrator's voice was not to my liking and made the experience a little irritating at times but it didn't detract from the overall story.

Appreciated this book

Very interesting and concise account of one of history’s most significant figures. Having a need for getting to the point as well as placing a subject in context to the current and past, this book appealed to me greatly. Not proud to say history can make my eyes glaze over in boredom.This book definitely did not do that.

Simply Marvelous

Bell has succeed in his goal to create a manageable biography of one of the most fascinating figures in world history. Do not be misled by the assumption that an abbreviated telling of Napoleon’s life story would come at the cost of accuracy or consequential information. I have waded through several extremely tedious tomes of the Corsican’s life and, without hesitation, say Bell’s project is not only sufficiently comprehensive but is superior in its comprehend-ability. Absent the myriad minute details which generally encumber the telling of this story, Bells’ book is a remarkably understandable tale. Any great story can become cumbersome when it is littered with information that hampers the flow of the telling.
All information is useful to a devoted student of the subject but information that does not help move the story along simply impedes the continuity for an audience that wants to know “what happened next?”
Napoleon’s time on Elba and St. Helena does not require the regurgitation of a hour-by-hour diary for us to know he was exiled and spent his time wishing he was not.
Bravo to Bell for his cautious brevity and laudable bravery. He accurately tells the story and gets out of the way. In doing so he certainly subjected himself to harsh criticism from rabid historians who revel in volume while ignoring the storytelling itself.
It was a stroke of brilliance to retain the talents of Paul Heitsch - an award-winning storyteller whose timing, timbre and clarity make him perfect for this project. I was immersed in the incredible life of Napoleon from start to finish. Never once did the nagging critic in my head whisper, “get on with it.” Instead time and again I experienced the anxious, “what happened next?”