Bibliography of Napoleon

Major biographies

Asprey, Robert. The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and The Reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. (2002); 2 vol, 1200pp well-written popular biography focusing on the military excerpt and text search

Barnett, Corelli. Bonaparte (1978), hostile

Dwyer, Philip. Napoleon: The Path to Power (2008), to 1799

Emsley, Clive. Napoleon 2003 142 pp, very succinct coverage of life, France and empire; little on warfare

Cronin, Vincent. Napoleon (1971), favorable popular bio

Dwyer, Philip. Napoleon: The Path to Power (2008), 672 pp; vol 1 of major new biography, to 1799 excerpt and text search

Ellis, Geoffry. Napoleon (1997)

Englund, Steven. Napoleon: A Political Life. (2004). 575 pages; the best (and most advanced) political biography; thin on military excerpt and text search

Falk, Avner. Napoleon Against Himself: A Psychobiography (2007) offers novel explanations for his many irrational, self-defeating, and self-destructive actions.

Fisher, Herbert. Napoleon (1913) 256pp old classic online edition

Fournier, August. Napoleon the First: A Biography (1903); 836 pages; excellent old biography online edition

Herold, J. Christopher. The Age of Napoleon (1963) 480pp, popular history stressing empire and diplomacy

Johnson, Paul. Napoleon: A Penguin Life. (2002). 208 pp. excerpt and text search

Lefebvre, Georges: Napoleon, (2 vol. 1935; English translation 1969), influential French perspective

Markham, Felix. Napoleon 1963. 304pp online edition

McLynn, Frank. Napoleon: A Biography (2003) 752pp, stress on military excerpt and text search

Rose, John Holland. The Life of Napoleon I: Including New Materials from the British Official Records, (2 vol 1903), old but solid scholarship; online edition vol 2

Schom, Alan. Napoleon Bonaparte: A Life (1997), 944pp; very hostile; argues Napoleon was a paranoiac psychopath excerpt and text search

Thompson, J. M. Napoleon Bonaparte: His Rise and Fall (1954), scholarly, well-balanced in topics, but pro-Britain

Tulard, Jean. Napoleon: The Myth of the Saviour (1985), influential French biography

Woloch, Isser. Napoleon and His Collaborators: the making of a dictatorship (2001) excerpt and text search

Military studies

Adkin, Mark. The Waterloo Companion: The Complete Guide to History's Most Famous Land Battle (2002) 448pp excerpt and text search

Arnold, James R. Napoleon Conquers Austria: The 1809 Campaign for Vienna. (1995). 247 pp. excerpt and text search

Bell, David A. The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It (2008) excerpt and text search

Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon: the Mind and Method of History's Greatest Soldier (1973), 1216 pp; experts call it the best military synthesis

Cole, Juan. Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East (2007) excerpts and online search from Amazon.com

Connelly, Owen. Blundering to Glory: Napoleon's Military Campaigns (2nd ed 2006) negative on Napoleon's skills

Coote, Stephen. Napoleon and the Hundred Days. (2005). 320 pp.

Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. Napoleon; A History of the Art of War (1904), old classic online edition

Duffy, Christopher. Austerlitz, 1805 (1999)

Duffy, Christopher. Borodino and the War of 1812 (1999).

Elting, John R. Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armée (1997), influential study

Epstein, Robert M. Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War (1994) on Austrian war of 1809

Esdaile, Charles J. Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 (2008), 656pp excerpt and text search

Esdaile, Charles J. The French Wars 1792-1815. (2001). 96pp online edition

Fisher, Todd. The Napoleonic Wars (2001-4) 3 vol; 96pp, short, well-illustrated operational history excerpt and text search vol 1; excerpt and text search vol 2; excerpt and text search vol 3

Forrest, Alan. Napoleon's Men: The Soldiers of the Revolution and Empire. 2002. 248 pp.

Fortescue, J. W. A history of the British army (19v 1899-1930) full text vol 4 pt2: 1789-1801online edition vol 6: 1807-1809; full text vol 7: 1809-1810; full text vol 8: 1810-1812; full text vol 9: 1813-1814; full text vol 10: 1814-1815

Gates, David. The Napoleonic Wars, 1803-1815 (1997) 304pp; attacks Connolly and says N's "brilliance as a military commander has rarely been equalled let alone surpassed"

Gill, John. With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and his German Allies in the 1809 Campaign (1992)

Goetz, Robert. 1805: Austerlitz; Napoleon and the Destruction of the Third Coalition (2005). 368pp

Griffith, Paddy. The Art of War of Revolutionary France 1789-1802, (1998); 304 pp; excerpt and text search

Hamilton-Williams, David. Waterloo: New Perspectives; The Great Battle Reappraised. (1994). 416 pp. excerpt and text search

Herold, J. Christopher. Napoleon in Egypt (1962) online edition

Kagan, Frederick W. "Russia's Wars with Napoleon: 1805–1815", in The Military History of Tsarist Russia, ed. Frederick W. Kagan and Robin Higham (2002), 106–22.

Kagan, Frederick W. The End of the Old Order: Napoleon And Europe, 1801-1805 (2006) first of four promised volumes; covers the strengths and strategies of all the powers excerpt and text search

Leggiere, Michael V. Napoleon and Berlin: The Franco-Prussian War in North Germany, 1813. 2002. 384 pp. excerpt and text search

Leggiere, Michael V. The Fall of Napoleon. 'Vol 1:' The Allied Invasion of France, 1813-1814. (2007) 690pp excerpt and text search

Lieven, Dominic. "Russia and the Defeat of Napoleon (1812-14)." Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 2006 7(2): 283-308. ISSN 1531-023X Fulltext: in Project MUSE. Argues Alexander's successful strategy has been neglected

Liaropoulos, Andrew N. "Revolutions in Warfare: Theoretical Paradigms and Historical Evidence - the Napoleonic and First World War Revolutions in Military Affairs." Journal of Military History 2006 70(2): 363-384. ISSN 0899-3718 Fulltext: in Project Muse

Lieven, Dominic. "Russia and the Defeat of Napoleon (1812–14)" Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 7#2 (2006) 283-308 online in Project Muse

Luvaas, Jay. Napoleon on the Art of War (2001) 288 pp. A synthesis, arrangement, and translation of Napoleon's thinking. excerpt and text search

Lynn, John A. The Bayonets of the Republic: Motivation and Tactics in the Army of Revolutionary France, 1791–94 (1984); influential analysis excerpt and text search

Muir, Rory. Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon (2000), 466pp excerpt and text search

Nofi, Albert A. The Waterloo Campaign, June 1815. 1993. 333pp online edition

Nosworthy, Brent. With Musket, Cannon and Sword: Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies. (1996). 528 pp.

Paret, Peter. "Napoleon and the Revolution of War", in Paret, ed. Makers of Modern Strategy (1986)

Pericoli, Ugo.1815: The Armies at Waterloo (1973)

Riley, J. P. "How Good Was Napoleon?" History Today, (July 2007) 57#7 10pp in EBSCO

Riley, J. P. Napoleon and the World War of 1813: Lessons in Coalition Warfighting. (2000). 480 pp

Riley, Jonathon. Napoleon As a General: Command from the Battlefield to Grand Strategy (2007)

Rogers, H.C.B. Napoleon's Army (1974)

Rothenberg, Gunther E. (2006), The Napoleonic Wars  240pp, well illustrated synthesis by leading scholar excerpt and text search

Rothenberg, Gunther. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon 1978

Schneid, Frederick C. Napoleon's Italian Campaigns: 1805-1815. (2002); 229pp online edition

Tarle, Eugene. Napoleon's Invasion of Russia, 1812. 1942. online edition

Impact on France

Bergeron, Louis. France under Napoleon (1981), French viewpoint

Forrest, Alan. "Propaganda and the Legitimation of Power in Napoleonic France." French History, 2004 18(4): 426-445. ISSN 0269-1191 Fulltext: in OUP journals

Furet, François. The French Revolution, 1770-1814 (1996), pp 211–65 on Napoleon

Furet, François and Mona Ozouf, eds. A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution (1989), 1120pp; long essays by scholars; conservative perspective

Goubert, Pierre. The Course of French History. 1991; French textbook; ch. 14 online edition

Lyons, Martyn. Napoleon and the Legacy of the Revolution (1994)

Paxton, John. Companion to the French Revolution (1987), hundreds of short entries.

Scott, Samuel F. and Barry Rothaus. Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution, 1789-1799 (1984), short essays by scholars

Sutherland, D.M.G. The French Revolution and Empire: The Quest for a Civic Order (2nd ed 2003), comprehensive survey

Sutherland, D.M.G. France 1789–1815. Revolution and Counter-Revolution (2nd ed. 2003, 430pp) excerpts and online search from Amazon.com

Diplomacy and impact on Europe

Blanning, T.C.W. The French Revolutionary Wars 1787-1802 (1996).

Broers, Michael. Europe under Napoleon 1799-1815 (1996) 291pp, covers everything except the battles

Bruun, Geoffrey. Europe and the French Imperium, 1799-1814 1938. excellent survey of all of Europe

Dwyer, Philip G. ed.Napoleon and Europe, (2001), essays by scholars on each major power

Ellis, Geoffrey. The Napoleonic Empire (1991)

Grab, Alexander. Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe. (2003), pp. 249, maps; excellent synthesis excerpt and text search

Hill, Peter P. Napoleon's Troublesome Americans: Franco-American Relations, 1804-1815 (2005)

Lyons, Martyn. Napoleon and the Legacy of the Revolution (1994)

Muir, Rory. Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 1807-1815. (1996). 466 pp.

Parker, Harold T. "Why Did Napoleon Invade Russia? A Study in Motivation and the Interrelations of Personality and Social Structure", Journal of Military History 54 (April 1990): 131–46. in JSTOR

Rothenberg, Gunther E. "The Origins, Causes, and Extension of the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon", Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 18, No. 4, (Spring, 1988), pp. 771–793 in JSTOR

Rude, George F. and Harvey J. Kaye.Revolutionary Europe, 1783-1815' (2000), scholarly survey

Schroeder, Paul W. "Napoleon's Foreign Policy: A Criminal Enterprise", Journal of Military History 54 (April 1990): 147–62. Highly negative

Schroeder, Paul. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763-1848. 1996; Elaborate detail; advanced history; very hostile to Napoleon; online edition

Woolf, Stuart. Napoleon's Integration of Europe (1991) 320pp online edition

Cambridge Modern History (1907) vol 9: Napoleon online edition, older articles by scholars, 900pp

Historiography and Memory

Black, Jeremy. "Why the French Failed: New Work on the Military History of French Imperialism 1792-1815." European History Quarterly 2000 30(1): 105-115. ISSN 0265-6914 Fulltext: in Sage journals

Datta, Venita. "'L'appel Au Soldat': Visions of the Napoleonic Legend in Popular Culture of the Belle Epoque." French Historical Studies 2005 28(1): 1-30. ISSN 0016-1071

Dunne, John. "Napoleon: For or against ... and Beyond." History Review. Issue: 27. 1997. pp 17+. online edition

Dwyer, Philip G. "Napoleon Bonaparte as Hero and Saviour: Image, Rhetoric and Behaviour in the Construction of a Legend", French History 2004 18(4): 379-403,

Forrest, Robert F. "Rumor into Myth: the Image of Napoleon among the Romanians, 1800-1848", Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Proceedings 1992 21: 98-105

Geyl, Pieter. Napoleon: For and Against (1949) online edition, debates among scholars

Hazareesingh, Sudhir. The Legend of Napoleon (2005) excerpt and text search

Hazareesingh, Sudhir. "Memory and Political Imagination: the Legend of Napoleon Revisited." French History, 2004 18(4): 463-483. ISSN 0269-1191 Fulltext: in Oxford up

Hazareesingh, Sudhir. "Bonapartist Memory and Republican Nation-building: Revisiting the Civic Festivities of the Second Empire", Modern & Contemporary France 2003 11(3): 349-364

Heit, Siegfried. "German Romanticism: an Ideological Response to Napoleon", Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Proceedings 1980 1: 187-197. Argues that German opposition to Napoleon led German Romanticism to reject the chief ideals represented by the French Revolution and Napoleon. Uses the works of Arndt, Fichte, Jahn, Kleist, and Schleiermacher, to show how German Romanticism became identified with political reaction and nationalism, and how it opposed political liberalism, rationalism, neoclassicism, and cosmopolitanism.

Horward, Donald D. "Napoleon and Beethoven", Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Proceedings 1980 2: 3-13,

Markham, J. David. "Napoleon and the Romantic Poets", Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Selected Papers 1998: 651-663,

Newman, Edgar Leon. "Defanging the Revolution: How the Memory of the French Revolution Was Changed in French Working-class Poetry and Song, 1830-52", Consortium on Revolutionary Europe 1750-1850: Selected Papers 1995: 591-605,

Nieuwazny, Andrzej. "Napoleon and Polish identity." History Today, May 1998 v48 n5 pp. 50–55

O'Brien, David. After the Revolution: Antoine-Jean Gros, Painting and Propaganda under Napoleon (2006) 288p.

Prendergast, Christopher (1997). Napoleon and History Painting: Antoine-Jean Gros's La Bataille d'Eylau. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-817422-5. 

Pinkney, David. ed., Napoleon: Historical Enigma (1969)

Schönpflug, Daniel. "So Far, and Yet So Near: Comparison, Transfer and Memory in Recent German Books on the Age of the French Revolution and Napoleon", French History 2004 18(4): 446-462

Stock, Paul. "Imposing on Napoleon: the Romantic Appropriation of Bonaparte", Journal of European Studies 2006 36(4): 363-388, deals with English Romantic writers

Wilson-Smith, Timothy. Napoleon and His Artists (1996)