The Rise Of Napoleon Bonaparte - Book Report/Review Example

The Rise Of Napoleon Bonaparte In Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte Robert shows in an abundant detail a rather human side to Napoleon who was previously perceived as a flawless God for few and as a Devil for others. In this thrilling biography we learn that Napoleon wasn’t the architect of the chaos that rose in his reign but he inherited it all. In this book we see how Napoleon tried his best to suppress the mayhem that went on around his Empire. In the book we follow Napoleon Bonaparte, on his journey as he tries to strengthen his Kingdom’s foundation though marriages, won battles and cunning diplomatic management. We see as Napoleon loses his Empire and then sought exile in Elba, where he brew’s a master plan for his return to regain control over his Kingdom, how he includes peasants in his march to Paris. We witness his defeat at waterloo, experience his final exile and then a forlorn death on the island of St. Helena. Asprey did not take either of Napoleons intense sides as portrayed by many others. In his definition Napoleon was neither God nor devil, neither was he a saint with no self sufficient purpose, nor was he the power hungry aristocrat. For Asprey Napoleon was just every bit as human as the rest of his people. For him the truth about Napoleon lied somewhere between all the extreme images representing him. The writer describes Napoleon as a complete man, a man who was a lover and a soldier, a man who had seen everything in his life from being a student to the leader of a nation. He reveals no new traits about Napoleon but stick to the neutral part of him. He describes Napoleon as a person who was always presented either as a devil or a God. He was presented on the extremes of both good and bad by the people of different perspectives. The best of Asprey’s work is perhaps done on the chapters of Napoleon’s military campaigns. They are very well written and I found myself enjoying every bit of his writing. The chapter about battle of Toulon provides a very deep look at Napoleons rise, the making of a military officer who just got out of school. His Italian campaign takes up most of the book as Asprey described perfectly, the Battles of Rivoli and Arcola. He then continues on taking us through the Treaty of Campo Formio in which Napoleon triumphs over Austrians. He then takes us onto the journey of Napoleon residing in palace of Montebello while he struggled to establish his own kingdom. After the Italy campaign Asprey then took us to Egypt. Asprey could not have written Egypt experience any better, one could almost imagine the scalding hot sand of the dessert. In these chapters Asprey so fluidly explained the events of Napoleons life, his transformation from a standard officer to the First Consul of France, where he started showing signs of majestic desires. These four chapters congregate to form my favorite part of the book. Once Napoleon has gained the amount of control he needed in Egypt he continued in his fixation of joining Europe against the British to fulfill his dream of taking over Great Britain. Asprey writes these events with such perfection that one could feel the fascination, could see the diplomacy, the trickery and attempted murder. I for one have never found historical reading as exciting as Asprey has displayed the life events of Napoleon; he explains everything clearly with powerful words. After controlling Egypt not only did Napoleon set an example but also made a lot of changes for the good of the country. Arguably Napoleons methods to prove his loyalty and harshness were rather aggressive. Though as Asprey mentioned Napoleon did not intend to stay long in Egypt but his plans were tarnished as his army was attacked at Aboukir bay with completely severed their contact from France, hence, delaying their departure. But Napoleon soon took control of the situation and reached France as soon as he could. Asprey then goes on to explains the hurdles Napoleon had to go through to get control of Paris again. Upon his arrival the city was showing early signs of chaos. They had gotten tired of directory. Having dictatorial powers Napoleon soon got hold of the situation and started delving into his bigger plan of getting hold of England. He soon got all of Europe to turn against Britain and started preparations for a revolutionary battle. In his attempt to defeat British he soon banned all imported British goods throughout Europe. He thought doing so would weaken British and would make their sellers work on French terms. But his actions caused problems with Spain and many other fractions. That was where the downfall of his Empire started. Moreover Asprey tells us in huge details about all the measure Napoleon started taking to bring down the British. But before he could do so Napoleon had yet another run in with Horatio Nelson, who almost completely destroyed his Franco-Spanish fleet. That was a huge setback for Napoleon. With an indecent army and not good monetary balance Napoleon plan starting going downhill. He soon started taking funds from merchants as his treasure reserve and monetary balance did not cover the expenses of battle he was ragging on Britain. Napoleon’s attack on England appeared futile and he soon returned from England defeated. After that Napoleon went through series of obstacles, family crisis and bad decisions. Which ended in, him losing the Empire he had once built. Asprey’s The Rise Of Napoleon Bonaparte covers a lot of history in avid detail. It shows us a side of Napoleon through military eyes. Asprey used just the right amount of description of battles. It is good thorough read but it does not come off as exhaustive. Despite the fact that Asprey concentrated more on Napoleons regime and military career and less on his personal life. The book somehow ends up making Napoleon look extremely arrogant but strong willed all the same. Nevertheless this book is one interesting read. . Work Cited Dwyer, Philip G. Napoleon: The Path to Power. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Read More