Currently reading
Gabriela, Cravo e Canela
Progress:
157/358 pages
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph (The Authorized Doubleday/Doran Edition)
Progress:
189/672 pages
The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve
Progress:
41/608 pages
Peter the Great
Progress:
472/934 pages
Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty
A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge
Progress:
191/712 pages
The German Army 1933-1945
Progress:
198/598 pages
Corporal Hitler and the Great War 1914-1918: The List Regiment
Progress:
22/238 pages
A little more than a week ago, I finished reading this wonderful book, which aptly sums up Napoleon's reign. Here was a man who bestrode Europe like a Colossus. Napoleon was a representation of a shift in the governing order whose rule was once largely regarded as a matter of divine right. Though no believer in democracy (as exemplified by Britain), he supported and nurtured people of proven talent both in the military and civilian spheres.
Yet notwithstanding his considerable talents and intellect, it was Napoleon's own egotism and the seemingly unending years of war from 1803 to 1815 that led to his own undoing.
I confess I felt deeply sympathetic about Napoleon in his later years (in particular, the post-Waterloo era when he was exiled on St. Helena island, where he was treated rather shabbily by the British governor there). At his best, he was a master military commander on both the strategic and tactical levels. I find him endlessly fascinating.