For other untold millions, he was a terrifying figure, an irrepressible warmonger, and quite possibly the antichrist (or the first of three antichrists, for you Nostradamus fans out there). For untold millions he was a trusted leader, the man who brought order, stability, and glory to a France that had been riven by the anarchy of revolution. Ĝonleth Hill, as Lord Varys, Game of Thronesįew men or women have towered so completely over their age as the diminutive Napoleon Bonaparte. It’s a trick, a shadow on the wall, and a very small man can cast a very large shadow…” “Power resides where men believe it resides. Even if Napoleon hadn’t been one of the great military geniuses of history, he would still be a giant of the modern era…” The French foreign ministry sits above the stone quays he built along the Seine…The Legion d’Honneur, an honor he introduced to take the place of feudal privilege, is highly coveted France’s top secondary schools, many of them founded by Napoleon, provide excellent education and his Conseil d’Etat still meets every Wednesday to vet laws. Today the Napoleonic Code forms the basis of law in Europe and aspects of it have been adopted by forty countries…Napoleon’s bridges, reservoirs, canals and sewers remain in use throughout France. Yet his greatest and most lasting victories were those of his institutions, which put an end to the chaos of the French Revolution and cemented its guiding principle of equality before the law. For any general, of any age, this was an extraordinary record. Although his conquests ended in defeat and ignominious imprisonment, over the course of his short but eventful life he fought sixty battles and lost only seven.

As First Consul and later Emperor, he almost won hegemony in Europe, but for a series of coalitions specifically designed to bring him down. He came to power through a military coup only six years after entering the country as a penniless political refugee.

“Napoleon Bonaparte was the founder of modern France and one of the great conquerors of history.

Andrew roberts napoleon review