3 comments about Napoleon.

1. A strongly analyzed subject, the author provides a great deal of information aimed at the reader who is approaching Napoleon for the first time. Included are many lovely illustrations, copies of paintings depicting scenes of famous incidents and family portraits.
   However, several errors exist which weaken the text. A number of errors in translation leave the reader stumbling over awkward, grammatically-incorrect sentences. Several phrases are also translated literally from the French without explanation, often leaving the reader to guess at their meaning. The author is also confused as to who he is writing to, is it the neophyte or the scholar? The result is a series of simplistic depictions interspersed with complicated pieces of information which leave the average reader, with no indepth knowledge of the post-revolutionary government or early 19th century French history, at a loss. At the close of the book are eight pages of documents, in the original French, unsupported with any translation or explanation. Did the translator run out of time, or is one to assume that all English readers will understand written French? Lastly, the author, though trying to be objective, is obviously biased in Napoleon's favour and leaves the reader wondering just how accurate is his portrayal.



2. This is probably a nice introductory read into the Napoleonic legend. It features some nice pictures done in the DK style. However, some of the contents appear to be targetted at a more mature readership such as reproductions of French archival texts. I tk that this book is unclear as to the kind of readership to target.



3. In this book,Jean Tulard,a distinguished historian of the napoleonic empire with many other books on the subject,gives us a very penetrating and elucidative view of Napoleon's political position inside France. Most english and american historians center their attention on Napoleon's military and foreign achivements,forgetting the internal,domestic french political picture which is vital to the understanding of the whole saga.Reading this book you begin to understand the real weakness of the napoleonic empire and how Napoleon,inflated by his successes,forgot why he was put into power in the first place. I strongly recomend this book,especialy to people who focus too much on Napoleon the general and conqueror,for after all,the first and most important people Napoleon had to subdue were the french.

No comments about Memoirs of Louis Xiv. and the Regency: His Court and the Regency.

No comments about The Selected Papers of Charles Willson Peale and His Family: Volume 2, The Artist as Museum Keeper, 1791-1810 (The Selected Papers of Charles Willson P).

2 comments about Alexander the Great (Get a Life).

1. This book is more an essay on Alexander the man than a study of Alexander the general, though all the campaigns and major battles are mentioned. The author discusses both positive and negative aspects of Alexander. There is some discussion of his father Phillip, but essentially no discussion on the Successors. There is only one map, covering Alexander's entire march, but enough sites are listed on the it to make it useful. The book is easy to read, with the language flowing nicely. Recommended if you're looking for a brief introduction and quick read, as I was.



2. Have been inspired by the Alexander the Great since my childhood, I have tried to read everyting possible over him, intenet, bookstore, library and even documentation film. Here is the very site to get all necessary information.

No comments about Henry IV: The Establishment of the Regime, 1399-1406.

1 comments about Lost Voices of the Edwardians.

1. This is a rather interesting look at Edwardian England. The author specializes in reviewing archives on particular topics and then compiling selected extracts of these recollections under general headings. I had never quite before seen this technique, and it allows the reader to hear directly from those who lived the experiences under discussion. In this book, the topics include Childhood, Work, Home, Daily Life, Travel, Politics and Military to name some examples. One is struck repeatedly by the extreme poverty that is manifested in these recollections--particularly of children who struggled to get enough to eat or to find a pair of shoes. This was clearly a difficult period for those on the bottom on the totem pole. The book contains a number of contemporary photos which, when added to the written recollections, affords the reader a pretty effective insight into what was going on. However, this approach does have some problems. For example, a disproportionate percentage of the recollections are from lower and working class individuals--and the same individuals' comments appear under a number of topics (each comment identifies the individual making it). So, one wonders how representative these views are of Edwardians generally, or whether they are skewed due to (for some reason) the archives containing more comments from these folks than others more fortunate than they. Nonetheless, a valuable contemporary document of Edwardian England that adds to our understanding and often tugs at the reader's heartstrings.

No comments about THE QUEEN BEHIND THE THRONE.

No comments about My Mistress the Queen: The Letters of Frieda Arnold Dresser to Queen Victoria 1854-9.

No comments about The Letters of Queen Victoria a Selection from Her Majesty.

No comments about Alexander the Great - Ancient Greek Military Commander (Biography).