Page 92 - History of War - Issue 25-16

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NAPOL

Writer: David A Bell P
THE SPECTACULAR RISE AND
CRAMMED INTO AN ENTERTA
Napoleon Bonaparte is one
about i gures in history. La
anniversary of his i nal defe
half a dozen books about h
Napoleon The Great by And
the question: does the wor
book about him?
According to author Davi
biographer, the answer is y
out, the subject appears so
on it seem to exist. So he’s
to use his term, concise st
once both the greatest her
Therein lies Napoleon’s
appeal, because he was a
good, and great malevolen
Bell’s work. Reading this, t
of Napoleon’s enormous en
the Enlightenment like an (
l owing river of lava lighting
setting the world ablaze in
In his late 20s, he was a
of the greatest generals in
30s, he was in total contro
he was in his early 40s, he
empire the size of which h
since the fall of Rome more
The wars he fought, and m
revolutionary new ideas tha
shape of the world forever.
death, misery and destruct
Bell’s book explores all t
also persuasively arguing t
in the context of the French
event in 1789 didn’t just in
the shooting star of his age
The revolution gave birth t
warfare (essentially fast-m
cavalry and artillery assaul
in. It also brought about po
Napoleon to wage wars on
allowing him to seize absol
in turn, gave him unpreced
– both human and materia
wild ambitions.
Of course, it didn’t end w
is as good at describing his
remarkable rise. A succinct
giants – perfect for Bonap

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