--- product_id: 64727939 title: "Napoleon: A Life" price: "€ 53.55" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/64727939-napoleon-a-life store_origin: AT region: Austria --- # 53 battle sites visited for authentic research Multiple prestigious literary awards won 33,000+ newly published letters analyzed Napoleon: A Life **Price:** € 53.55 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > 🏅 Dive into the definitive Napoleon biography that history buffs and leaders swear by! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Napoleon: A Life - **How much does it cost?** € 53.55 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/64727939-napoleon-a-life) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **On-the-Ground Research:** Author’s journey to 53 battlefields and archives ensures vivid, authentic storytelling. - • **Unrivaled Depth & Detail:** Leverages 33,000+ newly released letters for unprecedented insight into Napoleon’s mind and motives. - • **Award-Winning Scholarship:** Winner of LA Times Book Prize, Fondation Napoleon Prize, and a New York Times bestseller—history meets prestige. - • **Essential for History Enthusiasts:** Ranks top 20 in European History books; a must-have for discerning readers craving authoritative biography. - • **Comprehensive Soldier-Statesman Portrait:** Explores Napoleon beyond battles—his reforms, leadership, and complex personal life. ## Overview Andrew Roberts’s 'Napoleon: A Life' is a magisterial one-volume biography that redefines our understanding of Napoleon Bonaparte by incorporating over 33,000 recently published letters. Combining award-winning scholarship with immersive battlefield research, it presents a nuanced portrait of Napoleon as both a military genius and a transformative statesman. This New York Times bestseller is essential reading for anyone seeking a comprehensive, authoritative account of one of history’s most influential figures. ## Description The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the acclaimed author of Churchill and The Last King of America —winner of the LA Times Book prize, finalist for the Plutarch prize, winner of the Fondation Napoleon prize and a New York Times bestseller “A thrilling tale of military and political genius… Roberts is an uncommonly gifted writer.” — The Washington Post Austerlitz, Borodino, Waterloo: his battles are among the greatest in history, but Napoleon Bonaparte was far more than a military genius and astute leader of men. Like George Washington and his own hero Julius Caesar, he was one of the greatest soldier-statesmen of all times. Andrew Roberts’s Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon’s thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine. Like Churchill, he understood the strategic importance of telling his own story, and his memoirs, dictated from exile on St. Helena, became the single bestselling book of the nineteenth century. An award-winning historian, Roberts traveled to fifty-three of Napoleon’s sixty battle sites, discovered crucial new documents in archives, and even made the long trip by boat to St. Helena. He is as acute in his understanding of politics as he is of military history. Here at last is a biography worthy of its subject: magisterial, insightful, beautifully written, by one of our foremost historians. Review: Excellent - My interest in reading this book was primarily concerned with gaining an insight into Napoleon’s military campaigns and with Napoleon as a military leader. However, I soon realized that in addition to being a highly talented battlefield commander - he remained undefeated in 53 of the 60 battles he fought- he was also a capable statesman, reformer, administrator and a patron of the arts. In an age where Feudalism and Serfdom were still prevalent in many European states, Napoleon was an ‘enlightened’ absolutist - creator of the Code Napoléon - who fostered meritocracy, secularism, religious tolerance, and equality before the law. Napoleon’s ambition aptly complemented by his leadership style, ability to inspire men and brilliance on the battlefield made him master of Europe. However, he was not without his vices and could be regarded as the quintessential warmonger, responsible of bringing war and destruction upon Europe for many years. His decline began with his failed invasion of Russia. Also, his enemies learnt from him and applied his methods against him, while he himself began to ignore his own highly successful military maxims. He was finally defeated when much of Europe allied against him and brought an end to his regime in 1815. As the narrative begins with the French revolution in the backdrop, a little prior reading on the French revolution would be helpful in better understanding the initial chapters. Sizable space has been devoted to Napoleon’s campaigns – Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Waterloo - and these have been well described by the author at the ‘Operational level’; a level of warfare, the creation of which is credited to Napoleon. However, in the present century it is difficult to visualize how Divisions, Demi Brigades and Line regiments under Napoleon’s famous Marshals - Murat, Davout, Soult, Ney, Lannes, Masséna, Oudinot etc. - were exactly fighting at the tactical level. Thus, the possession of a companion book on Infantry & Cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic wars would greatly aid in better visualizing the various battlefields. I intend to procure such a companion and re-read this book, also as I recently realized that I was in possession of ‘Dictionary of the Napoleonic War’ by David G. Chandler – currently sitting idle in my library- a book if noticed earlier would have made the reading of this volume more enjoyable and educative. Overall, Andrew Roberts’s cradle to grave biography of Napoleon- with Napoleon’s recently published thirty three thousand surviving letters as a source material - is exhaustive in its contents and provides a good account of Napoleon’s professional and personal life, his work, his achievements and his failings. Whether he was an enlightened despot or a quintessential warmongers is to be decided by the readers. Nevertheless, the book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Napoleon. Review: Collecter's item for lifetime - Worth reading, worth the money spent, worth the time spent. I hv bought this as a collecter's item since I hv read this already. Read again and again to evaluate the this great life. Thank you desertcart, Thank you Cloudtail..Grandeur ... Mammoth...close to the heart.. ## Features - Penguin Books ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #5,942 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #20 in European History (Books) #119 in Indian Writing (Books) #179 in Biographies & Autobiographies (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 4,195 Reviews | ## Images ![Napoleon: A Life - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91t3V3rQsUL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent *by M***R on 30 April 2018* My interest in reading this book was primarily concerned with gaining an insight into Napoleon’s military campaigns and with Napoleon as a military leader. However, I soon realized that in addition to being a highly talented battlefield commander - he remained undefeated in 53 of the 60 battles he fought- he was also a capable statesman, reformer, administrator and a patron of the arts. In an age where Feudalism and Serfdom were still prevalent in many European states, Napoleon was an ‘enlightened’ absolutist - creator of the Code Napoléon - who fostered meritocracy, secularism, religious tolerance, and equality before the law. Napoleon’s ambition aptly complemented by his leadership style, ability to inspire men and brilliance on the battlefield made him master of Europe. However, he was not without his vices and could be regarded as the quintessential warmonger, responsible of bringing war and destruction upon Europe for many years. His decline began with his failed invasion of Russia. Also, his enemies learnt from him and applied his methods against him, while he himself began to ignore his own highly successful military maxims. He was finally defeated when much of Europe allied against him and brought an end to his regime in 1815. As the narrative begins with the French revolution in the backdrop, a little prior reading on the French revolution would be helpful in better understanding the initial chapters. Sizable space has been devoted to Napoleon’s campaigns – Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Waterloo - and these have been well described by the author at the ‘Operational level’; a level of warfare, the creation of which is credited to Napoleon. However, in the present century it is difficult to visualize how Divisions, Demi Brigades and Line regiments under Napoleon’s famous Marshals - Murat, Davout, Soult, Ney, Lannes, Masséna, Oudinot etc. - were exactly fighting at the tactical level. Thus, the possession of a companion book on Infantry & Cavalry tactics of the Napoleonic wars would greatly aid in better visualizing the various battlefields. I intend to procure such a companion and re-read this book, also as I recently realized that I was in possession of ‘Dictionary of the Napoleonic War’ by David G. Chandler – currently sitting idle in my library- a book if noticed earlier would have made the reading of this volume more enjoyable and educative. Overall, Andrew Roberts’s cradle to grave biography of Napoleon- with Napoleon’s recently published thirty three thousand surviving letters as a source material - is exhaustive in its contents and provides a good account of Napoleon’s professional and personal life, his work, his achievements and his failings. Whether he was an enlightened despot or a quintessential warmongers is to be decided by the readers. Nevertheless, the book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Napoleon. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Collecter's item for lifetime *by P***. on 2 April 2021* Worth reading, worth the money spent, worth the time spent. I hv bought this as a collecter's item since I hv read this already. Read again and again to evaluate the this great life. Thank you Amazon, Thank you Cloudtail..Grandeur ... Mammoth...close to the heart.. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nice *by P***D on 3 February 2026* Received it in good condition little dirty but not anything serious, overall very decent ## Frequently Bought Together - Napoleon: A Life - Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World - Alexander the Great --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.at/products/64727939-napoleon-a-life](https://www.desertcart.at/products/64727939-napoleon-a-life) --- *Product available on Desertcart Austria* *Store origin: AT* *Last updated: 2026-07-27*