Napoleonic era

Author: Will Durant
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Napoleon expanded the borders of France through brilliant victories and brought unprecedented prosperity. He remains a famous figure in the modern era, and within 500 years, we won't find anyone similar to him. He was not just a warlord and dictator but also a rare philosopher who was rarely deceived by superficiality, and a psychologist who continuously studied human nature from both the collective and individual aspects. In this book, you will see:
The French Revolution—the storm at the Bastille, the massacre of the aristocracy, the king being sent to the guillotine.
Napoleon's Rise—his call to defend French independence against the European monarchy alliance; the battle of the Pyramids in Egypt; his great victories in battles such as Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland; the Coup of 18 Brumaire that transformed him into the First Consul, making him the master of France and allowing him to implement the civil code named after his own name, followed by his coronation as Emperor for life.
Napoleon's Decline—France's army's panicked retreat through the snow in Russia; the invasion of Paris by the joint forces of Prussia, Russia, Austria, and Britain; Napoleon's exile to Elba, his escape from exile and reclaiming the throne, only to be defeated again at Waterloo, exiled to Saint Helena, and dying in melancholy.
Napoleon the man, standing at only five feet tall, yet he stood tall like modern Caesar, Alexander, and Charlemagne for two full centuries. A magnificent culture inspired by the romanticism of the era—Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley's poetry; Fichte, Schelling, Hegel's philosophy; Beethoven's music and his heroic life. Rome: the echo of imperial glory. Before being cruelly plundered by France and Germany, it was always called the "center of the world."