“Imagination rules the world.”
When it comes to the greatest military leaders in history, few names come close to matching the legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte. Having risen through the ranks as a military genius during the French Revolution, his authoritarian rule as First Consul and then as Emperor led to many cultural and political reforms that helped establish Europe’s contemporary history, and his fast-paced stunning tactics continue to fascinate military schools and historians to this day. From his humble beginnings in Corsica, his expeditions to Egypt, smashing victories at Austerlitz and Wagram, his doomed invasion of Russia to his final defeat and exile following Waterloo, books on Napoleon help us put his achievements into perspective, understand his character and appreciate his legacy on history. Join us today at What We Reading as we present the best Napoleon books and biographies that capture all there is to know about the French emperor (who was definitely average height for the time).
Napoleon: A Life – Andrew Roberts
First up on our list of the best books on Napoleon is Andrew Roberts’ definitive biography of the French emperor. From Austerlitz to Waterloo, Napoleon: A Life was the first single-volume biography on Napoleon to make use of the thirty-three thousand letters published by the man himself, completely warping our understanding of his character and motivations. Dictated during his years of exile on St. Helena, these letters show Napoleon to be far more decisive, strategic and forgiving than many readers would likely assume.
Roberts, an award-winning historian, travelled to fifty-three of Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, uncovered crucial new material in archives and even visited St. Helena personally to paint one of the most compelling portraits of Napoleon. Acute just as much in his political knowledge as he is with his military history, A Life is undoubtedly the most insightful, fascinating and comprehensive Napoleon books ever written.
Napoleon: The Man Behind The Myth – Adam Zamoyski
In his 2018 biography, Napoleon: The Man Behind the Myth, Adam Zamoyski makes use of original European sources to take readers beyond the myths surrounding France’s First Consul. Rather than the conflicting views that surround Napoleon ranging from being a god-like genius to a crackpot nasty little dictator, Zamoyski’s landmark work shows that he was instead a rather ordinary individual, capable of flashes that lean into all of these personalities.
By stripping away the prejudices, The Man Behind the Myth is a book on Napoleon that firmly puts the emperor in the context of his time. From a range of European sources in several different languages, Zamoyski’s book is one of struggle, ambition, conflict and self-interest, examining how a boy from Corsica became ‘Napoleon’. He documents how Napoleon was able to achieve what he did, and how he managed to undo it all. Rather than painting Napoleon as either a genius, romantic or a butcher, Zamoyski expertly attempts to understand Napoleon and his incredible trajectory.
Napoleon In Egypt – Paul Strathern
Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt was the first attack from the West on the Middle East in modern history. And, in his acclaimed book on Napoleon, Paul Stathern offers readers a rich and compelling account of a mission fuelled by a quest for riches and glory, and how it ended in disaster.
Napoleon in Egypt documents the 335 ships, 40,000 soldiers and an array of scholars, artists, scientists and inventors that followed Napoleon on his mission to establish an Eastern empire akin to his hero, Alexander the Great. Yet, this ‘liberation’ effort would soon descend into endless desert marches in the shadows of the pyramids, being hounded by a Muslim army led by the infamous Murad Bey. Not only one of the best Napoleon books for capturing the unquenchable ambition, heroic romanticism and slice of madness that personified all of his efforts, Strathern’s work also shows the significance of Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt in bridging Eastern and Western cultures and broadening, translating hieroglyphics and modern Egyptology.
The Illustrious Dead: The Terrifying Story Of How Typhus Killed Napoleon’s Greatest Army – Stephen Talty
In the spring of 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte was at the height of his powers. Forty-five million people called him ‘emperor’ and he led the most cultured and advanced nation on Earth. No army on the continent could match his masterfully trained forces, leading to him turning his attention towards Russia. He assembled the largest army ever seen in human history, and his continued sweep across Europe seemed like an inevitability.
Yet, even as the disorganised Russians dispersed around him, Napoleon’s invading force would find itself continually picked off by an invisible assailant. The emperor’s fabled brilliance appeared useless as the once all-conquering march descended into a hellish retreat for survival. No list of Napoleon books would be complete without an examination of the infamous invasion of Russia, and Stephen Talty presents a unique take on the tale by going beyond the bloody battlefields and into the ordinary lives of the soldiers present, and the ghastly pathogens that have a hidden role in history.
Napoleon: A Political Life – Steven Englund
If you’re looking for a book about Napoleon that focuses more on his enduring political legacy rather than all of his fabled military adventures, Steven Englund has you covered with his famous work, Napoleon: A Political Life.
This sophisticated biography may not be the best reading for a newcomer to all things Bonaparte, but it does do an excellent job of analysing one of Europe’s most famous generals. From his Corsican upbringing, his French education, his acts of reform as First Consul, his more controversial record as Emperor, all the way to his exile and death, A Political Life is one of the best books for understanding the power Napoleon held, and why he continues to fascinate even to this day.
The Invisible Emperor: Napoleon On Elba – Mark Braude
One of the most overlooked parts of Napoleon’s remarkable life was the emperor’s ten-month-long exile on the small island of Elba. But, in Mark Braude’s The Invisible Emperor, readers get a fascinating look at how the most powerful man on the planet turned defeat into one final challenge.
A jaw-dropping drama mixed with a close character study, The Invisible Emperor presents a different side to Napoleon Bonaparte – as a heartbroken husband, civil engineer, interior designer, decorator, gardener and even spymaster. It also chronicles his efforts to turn two of his greatest enemies into close confidants, build a miniature island empire and famously hatch a plan to return to France without ever firing a single shot.
Waterloo: The True Story Of Four Days, Three Armies And Three Battles – Bernard Cornwell
Bestselling historian Bernard Cornwell offers one of the most fascinating books on Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars in his 2014 work. Already renowned for his ability to bring history to life through his vivid storytelling, Waterloo: The True Story of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles is everything you need to know about a campaign that forever altered the course of European history.
Through the lens of the British, Prussian and French armies amassed across the campaign, Cornwell delves into the heroism and tragedies of what it was truly like to be a soldier fighting at the scene of Waterloo. Pitting two of the greatest military minds on the continent against each other, Cornwell’s combination of gritty descriptions and meticulously researched details make this the definitive account of what would prove to be Napoleon’s final defeat.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
