About the Author

Steven Englund is a scholar of French history.

Reviews

Englund’s book feature[s] brilliantly pyrotechnic prose and a keen appreciation of Napoleon’s political instincts.
*The Nation*

Englund has written a most distinguished book recounting Bonaparte’s life with clarity and ease… This magnificent book tells us much that we did not know and gives us a great deal to think about.
*Los Angeles Times Book Review*

Englund, in his lively biography…seeks less to rehabilitate Napoleon’s reputation and legacy than to provide readers with a fuller view of the man and his actions.
*New York Times*

Napoleon: A Political Life is a veritable tour de force: the general reader will enjoy it immensely, and learn a great deal from it. But the book also has much to offer historians of modern France.
*Times Literary Supplement*

Englund’s incisive forays into political theory don’t diminish the force of his narrative, which impressively conveys the epochal changes confronting both France and Europe… A strikingly argued biography.
*Washington Post*

Englund’s luminous prose, and, yes, his romanticism, allow him to appreciate a quality that was central to Napoleonic experience, but which has virtually disappeared from contemporary political life, namely, grandeur… By far the best biography currently available.
*The New Republic*

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) has inspired countless films, plays and books—five biographies since 1997 alone. This one is a marvelous read, all 575 pages of it, even if you’re not a historian. As a political biography, it looks at the man’s motives rather than at the details of his battles… This is a sophisticated, often witty biography. Englund sweeps across a brilliantly crowded canvas with clarity and dash, and he enriches his own fine writing with Napoleon’s pithy aphorisms and the tart remarks of his contemporaries.
*Montreal Gazette*

It is Napoleon’s politics, not explicitly his battles, that interest this biographer, who subtitles his study A Political Life… His is no narrow study of how those in politics operate, hang on to power, or scratch each others’ backs… All things considered, this is the best of the recent crop of Napoleonic biographies.
*Journal of Modern History*

Englund's book feature[s] brilliantly pyrotechnic prose and a keen appreciation of Napoleon's political instincts. -- David A. Bell * The Nation *
Englund has written a most distinguished book recounting Bonaparte's life with clarity and ease... This magnificent book tells us much that we did not know and gives us a great deal to think about. -- Douglas Johnson * Los Angeles Times Book Review *
Englund, in his lively biography...seeks less to rehabilitate Napoleon's reputation and legacy than to provide readers with a fuller view of the man and his actions. -- Paula Friedman * New York Times *
Napoleon: A Political Life is a veritable tour de force: the general reader will enjoy it immensely, and learn a great deal from it. But the book also has much to offer historians of modern France. -- Sudhir Hazareesingh * Times Literary Supplement *
Englund's incisive forays into political theory don't diminish the force of his narrative, which impressively conveys the epochal changes confronting both France and Europe... A strikingly argued biography. -- Matthew Price * Washington Post *
Englund's luminous prose, and, yes, his romanticism, allow him to appreciate a quality that was central to Napoleonic experience, but which has virtually disappeared from contemporary political life, namely, grandeur... By far the best biography currently available. -- David A. Bell * The New Republic *
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) has inspired countless films, plays and books-five biographies since 1997 alone. This one is a marvelous read, all 575 pages of it, even if you're not a historian. As a political biography, it looks at the man's motives rather than at the details of his battles... This is a sophisticated, often witty biography. Englund sweeps across a brilliantly crowded canvas with clarity and dash, and he enriches his own fine writing with Napoleon's pithy aphorisms and the tart remarks of his contemporaries. -- Barbara Black * Montreal Gazette *
It is Napoleon's politics, not explicitly his battles, that interest this biographer, who subtitles his study A Political Life... His is no narrow study of how those in politics operate, hang on to power, or scratch each others' backs... All things considered, this is the best of the recent crop of Napoleonic biographies. -- David P. Jordan * Journal of Modern History *

This is a remarkable work of prodigious research and erudition. In a very thorough manner, Englund (Inquisition in Hollywood) examines the creation and short life of the Napoleonic state. Englund exudes a fascination with the nearly omnipotent power of Napoleon's personality and how it became entwined with the fate of over 43 million citizens of France. Through the genius of Napoleon, a strife-ridden country became a unified nation that strove to become an empire. According to Englund, the Napoleonic state was neither some hackneyed imitation of a European monarchy nor a Hitlerian progenitor. Instead, it was an expression of the Enlightenment's vision of a state based on the secular power of reason. Despite his obvious admiration for the Corsican, Englund is quick to point out that the inherent flaws of Napoleon's egomania doomed his vision for a unified Europe. In true scholarly fashion, Englund pays homage to scholars who do not cast an admiring eye on Napoleon Bonaparte and the turmoil he caused. The reader would do well to take Englund's advice and read Paul Schroeder's Transformation of European Politics 1763-1848 for a decidedly countervailing view. Englund has produced a definitive work that belongs in every European history collection.-Jim Doyle, Sara Hightower Regional Lib., Rome, GA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.