Blackman on Zamoyski, 'Napoleon: A Life'
Adam Zamoyski. Napoleon: A Life. New York: Basic Books, 2018. Maps. 784 pp. $40.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-465-05593-7.
Reviewed by Robert Blackman
"Overall, Zamoyski gives us a picture of Napoleon as a somewhat ridiculous figure: small, funny-looking, rude, insecure, and occasionally bizarre. Zamoyski describes Napoleon as having a key character flaw: an unwillingness or inability to see the world as others saw it or to take into account the desires of others when making his decisions. Much attention is paid to Napoleon's romantic life as evidence of and a source of his personal insecurity....In the end, one is left thinking that it is truly remarkable Napoleon could conquer Europe given his many personal failings. Then again, given the low quality of his opponents and the unflattering portrayals of the leaders of Spain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, one suspects that Napoleon did not need to be a great man..."
https://networks.h-net.org/node/12840/reviews/5754067/blackman-zamoyski-napoleon-life
I don't know why to buy any biographies about Boney at all, now in the age of internet where you can download and read a myriad of sources like the correspondence of Boney and a lot of interesting memoirs as well, I read Cronin, Tulard and my most favorite Presser - now I can much better asses Boney from the sources I have access to - than buying a biography.
I don't know why the reviewer says the book is largely based on primary sources, except perhaps when talking about the Russian campaign, the book seems heavily based on Broers' and Dwyer's recent bios. So if you read them there's no need to read this.
I do love a clever, snarky review, even if I can't always agree with everything the reviewer says. Quite refreshing after the stultifying Caspar Milquetoast reviews, especially of controversial books, consistently required elsewhere.