I wanted to take a look back at some of the books I have read over the years. I’ve never had a forum to discuss these books before, so if anyone else has read them or would like to discuss another book they’ve read, feel free to chime in through the comments below. Napoleon is the only book that has ever made me consider getting an e-reader. The book is 810 pages, including the epilogue, and has relatively small print. I am one of those strange people that really care about the condition of my books, and usually I try to keep them looking so close to new you wouldn’t suspect I’ve read it yet. In the case of Napoleon, that was impossible. This book came everywhere with me for nearly two months, whether it was a vacation in Florida, or the coffee house across the street. My knowledge of Napoleon was near zero when I began reading this. I don’t recall why I decided to read this book. I had read some other historical books where Napoleon was not the central character, but played a part, and maybe my lack of knowledge on him was the reason I became interested in this book. This book is not for everyone; but for people who love biographies, it’s my personal favorite and I highly recommend it.

There are a few takeaways from this book that I would like to specifically call out.

“‘If you treat the mob with kindness,’ he told Joseph later, ‘these creatures fancy themselves invulnerable; if you hang a few, they get tired of the game, and become as submissive and humble as they ought to be.'”

pg.66

My view of Napoleon is largely shaped by this biography because, as I already mentioned, I did not have much familiarity beforehand. The reason I pulled out the quote above is it highlights one of the aspects of Napoleon’s character that I took from the book. The quote sounds ruthless, but I think it comes from a place of genuine fear. Napoleon was a big fan of order. He rose to power during a time of chaos, when there was a power vacuum in his country. Lawlessness was common, but he preferred the discipline of military life. Napoleon idolized larger than life characters from the past such as Julius Ceaser and Alexander the Great. It was interesting to me that he kind of comes to the realization that these huge figures from the past are not some unattainable idols, but people just like him that he can emulate. Words like mob, and many others that group people together, I find dangerous because they take away individual identity. I think this allows for violence to be done on a larger scale. As the character Raskolnikov discovered in Crime and Punishment,that psychological distance is needed if you want to be like one of these conquerers.

Raskolnikov:] “Yes, that’s what it was! I wanted to become a Napoleon, that is why I killed her…. Do you understand now?”

Crime and Punishment

Napoleon took another thing from his idols as well. He became a great motivator and really understood symbolism.

“Soldiers of the 26th regiment of light infantry, I entrust you with the French eagle. It will be your rallying point. You swear to abandon it but with life? You swear never to suffer an insult to France. You swear to prefer death to dishonour. You swear!’ He laid particular emphasis upon this last word, pronounced in a peculiar tone, and with great energy. This was the signal at which all the officers raised their swords, and all the soldiers, filled with enthusiasm, exclaimed with common consent, in a loud voice, accompanied by the ordinary acclamations: ‘We swear!'”

Pg.675

Those French eagles, that the soldiers carried, were treated as more important than an individual life. They stood for France, just as the Roman eagles had once stood for the power and might of Rome. People believe in symbols, and that is no different today. We, in the U.S., do not let our flag touch the ground. It is seen as disrespectful not to any one person but to our nation and to those who serve and protect it. Napoleon understood the power of these things. When the Arc de Triomphe was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon it was not only to honor his soldiers, but also served as a message to the world that the Empire of Rome had been reborn in France.

Napoleon, Ceaser, and Alexander undeniably shaped the world around them, and had an impact on history that cannot be ignored; but personally, I’m glad I wasn’t alive during their conquests. All in all, this is a great book. A lot of history to comb through, and I will never remember everything, but I really enjoyed it and might reread it someday.