Comment

May 19, 2018EvanSchoenfeld rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The author declares his intention up front to reform the point of view that The Little Guy was a villain comparable to Attila and Hitler. This is a good thing; the unbalanced notion that he alone was responsible for the Napoleonic Wars is still touted in some quarters. Roberts might take the huggable, lovable Napoleon thing too far—he describes the leader-army relationship as reciprocal whereas one suspects Nappy might best be seen as manipulator. But for the most part this is persuasive stuff. Detailed information is provided on the Duke D’Enghien affair which suggests the event was less than a crime, if still a mistake (and a rotten thing to do). One wonders if controversy will ever fade over the issue: How should the most dramatic actor since antiquity be appreciated?