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Napoleon
Book by Ludwig, Emil
Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
207 people are currently reading
1960 people want to read
About the author
Emil Ludwig
420 books80 followersEmil Ludwig (originally named Emil Cohn) was born in Breslau, now part of Poland. Ludwig studied law but chose writing as a career. At first he wrote plays and novella, but also worked as a journalist. In 1906, he moved to Switzerland, but, during World War I, he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Berliner Tageblatt in Vienna and Istanbul. He became a Swiss citizen in 1932, later emigrating to the United States in 1940.
At the end of the Second World War, he went to Germany as a journalist, and it is to him that we owe the retrieving of Goethe's and Schiller's coffins, which had disappeared from Weimar in 1943/44. He returned to Switzerland after the war and died in 1948, in Moscia, near Ascona.
During the 1920s, he achieved international fame for his popular biographies which combined historical fact and fiction with psychological analysis. After his biography of Goethe was published in 1920, he wrote several similar biographies, including one about Bismarck (1922–24) and another about Jesus (1928). As Ludwig's biographies were popular outside of Germany and were widely translated, he was one of the fortunate émigrés who had an income while living in the United States. His writings were considered particularly dangerous by Goebbels, who mentioned him in his journal.
Ludwig interviewed Benito Mussolini and on December 1, 1929 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His interview with the founder of the Republic of Turkey appeared in Wiener Freie Presse in March 1930, addressing issues of religion and music. He also interviewed Joseph Stalin in Moscow on December 13, 1931. An excerpt from this interview is included in Stalin's book on Lenin. Ludwig describes this interview in his biography of Stalin. What was originally an omitted section of the interview by Joseph Stalin himself, Professor of Montclair State University Grover Furr had finally published an English version of it.
Ludwig's extended interviews with T.G. Masaryk, founder and longtime president of Czechoslovakia, appeared as Defender of Democracy in 1936.
At the end of the Second World War, he went to Germany as a journalist, and it is to him that we owe the retrieving of Goethe's and Schiller's coffins, which had disappeared from Weimar in 1943/44. He returned to Switzerland after the war and died in 1948, in Moscia, near Ascona.
During the 1920s, he achieved international fame for his popular biographies which combined historical fact and fiction with psychological analysis. After his biography of Goethe was published in 1920, he wrote several similar biographies, including one about Bismarck (1922–24) and another about Jesus (1928). As Ludwig's biographies were popular outside of Germany and were widely translated, he was one of the fortunate émigrés who had an income while living in the United States. His writings were considered particularly dangerous by Goebbels, who mentioned him in his journal.
Ludwig interviewed Benito Mussolini and on December 1, 1929 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His interview with the founder of the Republic of Turkey appeared in Wiener Freie Presse in March 1930, addressing issues of religion and music. He also interviewed Joseph Stalin in Moscow on December 13, 1931. An excerpt from this interview is included in Stalin's book on Lenin. Ludwig describes this interview in his biography of Stalin. What was originally an omitted section of the interview by Joseph Stalin himself, Professor of Montclair State University Grover Furr had finally published an English version of it.
Ludwig's extended interviews with T.G. Masaryk, founder and longtime president of Czechoslovakia, appeared as Defender of Democracy in 1936.
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June 7, 2017
Emil Ludwig (1881-1948) was a journalist and foreign correspondent who definitely got around. He interviewed several substantial political figures of his time, among them Stalin, Mussolini, Ataturk and Czechoslovakia's Masaryk. He also managed, post-WWII, to retrieve the coffins of Goethe and Schiller (that had somehow gone missing from Weimar circa 1943-44). Amid the whirlwind to-and-fro of his life he'd sit down every so often to hammer out a door-stopping biography on a historical personality of note - Bismarck, Goethe, Lincoln or Jesus, for example. These works had the distinctive twist of combining history with psychological analysis. His intent, as he conveys it in the afterword of this volume, was: "To examine this man's inner life; to explain his resolves and his refrainings, his deeds and his sufferings, his fancies and his calculations, as issuing from the moods of his heart - the disclosure of this great chain of affects, was at once the means and the end of the portrayal." Ludwig's biography of Bonaparte is the most renowned of these offerings and often idles, like an eccentric teen, at the fringe of the dance floor that is the Napoleonic canon.
The edition I have here is eighty-seven years old, and looks it. This is one of the souvenirs of the farewell tour I took some time ago, when it became heartbreakingly obvious to me that several of the major used-book dealers in Southern California were swiftly going under. Prices had been slashed, negotiations could be made; I am a locust in Egypt under such catastrophic circumstance. My book appears to have been a resident of Los Angeles since its original purchase, the initial owner being kind enough to ink his name and address inside the front cover. (Hollywood, just a couple of blocks from Paramount Studios, and that in its 1928 heyday.) He also annotated, lurchingly, in a No. 2 lead pencil. I find it endearing that his last mark sits on Page 296...after which he jumps to the index to scratch out: "If we can't conclude the booke, we can at least leave it well-fulfilled." He didn't finish. I don't blame him. What surprises me, though, is that he left at the very center of the passage I thought best and most worthy of the strain.
Napoleon is in a bit of a pickle. He's an emperor now and he feels he must have an heir. Clearly Josephine is not going to give him one. Still, she is a companion to him and a woman for whom he holds a deep sentimental regard. He has said, more than once, that it's unfair to have her suffer just because he's become more important than either one of them might have imagined when they married. He has dithered over pulling this trigger for years, yet it must be done. He must have a son. How best to proceed?
He summons his brother Lucien from exile in Rome. (Lucien is the one sibling Bonaparte refused to reward or promote, probably because the man had his own ambitions and simply wasn't malleable enough.) Lucien would very much like to get back into Napoleon's good graces, and so he comes. This is a meeting of significant familial moment, and both men know it. They're down to business in short order.
The Emperor insists it's time for Lucien to divorce his wife. He tries to play it off as if this is the obstacle that stands between them; that his brother married a woman not of Napoleon's choosing. Lucien balks. He's fond of his wife and loves his children. But the implication is clear. This is the sacrifice that must be made to re-establish fraternal footing. However, Lucien is adamant - so adamant, in fact, that the Emperor shifts gears and tries to bribe him. When this doesn't work, he adopts his favorite form of magnanimous wheedling. Come, come, Lucien, this is not such a big thing! You have resistance? I can understand this. But you should know our brother Joseph will be divorcing his wife as well!
"Yes, yes! Joseph and you will both divorce your wives! We will all three get divorces, and then marry again, all of us, the very same day!" He adds a number of quips in the like merry vein. Then, suddenly: "But why have you become so serious? One might think you a sage of classical antiquity! You must stay with me for three days. I'll have a bed made ready for you in the next room to mine!"
Such a profoundly human piece of emotional cowardice is this. You rarely see it in Napoleon, yet it appears in these ten pages Ludwig takes from Lucien's account of the meeting. And that, to me, is gold in the field of Bonaparte reportage. It's so horrifically amusing that I simply don't doubt its accuracy. I've known men like this, men who try to hide their less-than-savory actions by recruiting others to the self-same sin. It rings absolutely true.
The book contains an impressive amount of first-person account and quotation; Ludwig chooses liberally, and objectively, with no regard to how it lengthens the work. And the work is quite long, the labor made almost unendurable by the author's penchant for psychological soliloquy. (Lots of florid Freudianism to plow through here.) Yet you can tell why it hovers so determinedly at the edge of the canon. Napoleon comes to life many times, and in myriad authentic aspects, during the course of this tale.
The edition I have here is eighty-seven years old, and looks it. This is one of the souvenirs of the farewell tour I took some time ago, when it became heartbreakingly obvious to me that several of the major used-book dealers in Southern California were swiftly going under. Prices had been slashed, negotiations could be made; I am a locust in Egypt under such catastrophic circumstance. My book appears to have been a resident of Los Angeles since its original purchase, the initial owner being kind enough to ink his name and address inside the front cover. (Hollywood, just a couple of blocks from Paramount Studios, and that in its 1928 heyday.) He also annotated, lurchingly, in a No. 2 lead pencil. I find it endearing that his last mark sits on Page 296...after which he jumps to the index to scratch out: "If we can't conclude the booke, we can at least leave it well-fulfilled." He didn't finish. I don't blame him. What surprises me, though, is that he left at the very center of the passage I thought best and most worthy of the strain.
Napoleon is in a bit of a pickle. He's an emperor now and he feels he must have an heir. Clearly Josephine is not going to give him one. Still, she is a companion to him and a woman for whom he holds a deep sentimental regard. He has said, more than once, that it's unfair to have her suffer just because he's become more important than either one of them might have imagined when they married. He has dithered over pulling this trigger for years, yet it must be done. He must have a son. How best to proceed?
He summons his brother Lucien from exile in Rome. (Lucien is the one sibling Bonaparte refused to reward or promote, probably because the man had his own ambitions and simply wasn't malleable enough.) Lucien would very much like to get back into Napoleon's good graces, and so he comes. This is a meeting of significant familial moment, and both men know it. They're down to business in short order.
The Emperor insists it's time for Lucien to divorce his wife. He tries to play it off as if this is the obstacle that stands between them; that his brother married a woman not of Napoleon's choosing. Lucien balks. He's fond of his wife and loves his children. But the implication is clear. This is the sacrifice that must be made to re-establish fraternal footing. However, Lucien is adamant - so adamant, in fact, that the Emperor shifts gears and tries to bribe him. When this doesn't work, he adopts his favorite form of magnanimous wheedling. Come, come, Lucien, this is not such a big thing! You have resistance? I can understand this. But you should know our brother Joseph will be divorcing his wife as well!
"Yes, yes! Joseph and you will both divorce your wives! We will all three get divorces, and then marry again, all of us, the very same day!" He adds a number of quips in the like merry vein. Then, suddenly: "But why have you become so serious? One might think you a sage of classical antiquity! You must stay with me for three days. I'll have a bed made ready for you in the next room to mine!"
Such a profoundly human piece of emotional cowardice is this. You rarely see it in Napoleon, yet it appears in these ten pages Ludwig takes from Lucien's account of the meeting. And that, to me, is gold in the field of Bonaparte reportage. It's so horrifically amusing that I simply don't doubt its accuracy. I've known men like this, men who try to hide their less-than-savory actions by recruiting others to the self-same sin. It rings absolutely true.
The book contains an impressive amount of first-person account and quotation; Ludwig chooses liberally, and objectively, with no regard to how it lengthens the work. And the work is quite long, the labor made almost unendurable by the author's penchant for psychological soliloquy. (Lots of florid Freudianism to plow through here.) Yet you can tell why it hovers so determinedly at the edge of the canon. Napoleon comes to life many times, and in myriad authentic aspects, during the course of this tale.
January 10, 2019
نابليون
يقدم لنا لودفيغ سيرة غنائية، مكتوبة بنفس ملحمي معدٍ، للفتى الكورسيكي الذي ارتقى بذكائه وشجاعته ليصبح رجل أوروبا الأول، نابليون ابن العصر الجديد الذي أرعب أبناء العروش والسلالات الملكية الأوروبية، بطل إيطاليا وغازي مصر وروسيا، صاحب أوسترليتز وبوردينو، وصاحب ليبزج وواترلو أيضاً، الرجل ذو الشخصية الحالمة والواقعية بشكل متداخل مربك، هذا ما يقدمه لنا لودفيغ على اتساع 700 صفحة، لا تكفي للإلمام بشخصية نابليون بل تجعلنا متعطشين للقراءة أكثر، فغنائية لودفيغ تجعله يتجاهل التفاصيل أحياناً، ولكنها لا تجعله ينسى أخطاء نابليون وعيوبه.
يقدم لنا لودفيغ سيرة غنائية، مكتوبة بنفس ملحمي معدٍ، للفتى الكورسيكي الذي ارتقى بذكائه وشجاعته ليصبح رجل أوروبا الأول، نابليون ابن العصر الجديد الذي أرعب أبناء العروش والسلالات الملكية الأوروبية، بطل إيطاليا وغازي مصر وروسيا، صاحب أوسترليتز وبوردينو، وصاحب ليبزج وواترلو أيضاً، الرجل ذو الشخصية الحالمة والواقعية بشكل متداخل مربك، هذا ما يقدمه لنا لودفيغ على اتساع 700 صفحة، لا تكفي للإلمام بشخصية نابليون بل تجعلنا متعطشين للقراءة أكثر، فغنائية لودفيغ تجعله يتجاهل التفاصيل أحياناً، ولكنها لا تجعله ينسى أخطاء نابليون وعيوبه.
October 8, 2018
Hablaré primero del estilo del libro, lo único que critico al autor es haberse tomado la libertad de escribir soliloquios (cosa que a mi parecer resta autenticidad), también encontré complejo leer y seguir el curso de la historia sin la introducción constante de fechas, personalmente a mí me gusta colocar los hechos en el tiempo, aunque el autor escribe que su intención era más bien retratar el alma del personaje sin tanto tinte histórico estricto, entonces dependerá de los gustos de cada lector y lo que busca. Finalmente quisiera que hubiera más notas sobre ciertos acontecimientos para legitimarlos, pero al igual que en la cuestión de fechas dependerá del gusto de cada lector y no se puede culpar al autor de esto ya que deja su intención clara. Desconozco si las ediciones posteriores dejaron el escrito intacto o agregan notas, yo cuento con la sexta.
Respecto al conocimiento que brinda del personaje lo considero excepcional, de principio puede parecer una lectura lenta y monótona pero las mismas hazañas de un hombre como Napoleon hacen que la lectura se vuelva amena, sobre todo al final del libro. Antes de leer este libro, tenía la idea de Napoleon como un gran conquistador y hombre apasionado hacia la vida. Ahora que lo termino mi visión se amplía hasta la admiración, hombre analítico, abierto y a mi parecer adelantado a su época (pese a que el siempre sentía que había nacido 2000 años tarde), yo creo que sus ideas siguen teniendo vigencia en el mundo actual. Su capacidad de análisis y al mismo tiempo de adaptarse a la circunstancia lo hace para mí un genio, su energía, el mérito que daba al talento y la razón, su sencillez, su política civil, y el hecho de haber vivido siempre de acuerdo a sus propios ideales,
todo esto en conjunto hacen de él la leyenda que es. Napoleon quiso unir la antigüedad con el porvenir, un ser como el suyo encontró complejo encajar en el presente que vivía.
Un libro que vale la pena leer a quien interese comprender el alma de un personaje histórico, sin embargo recomiendo altamente para leer este libro al menos conocer un poco el contexto político y mundial en que vivió Napoleon, con el fin de disfrutar su biografía de mejor manera.
Respecto al conocimiento que brinda del personaje lo considero excepcional, de principio puede parecer una lectura lenta y monótona pero las mismas hazañas de un hombre como Napoleon hacen que la lectura se vuelva amena, sobre todo al final del libro. Antes de leer este libro, tenía la idea de Napoleon como un gran conquistador y hombre apasionado hacia la vida. Ahora que lo termino mi visión se amplía hasta la admiración, hombre analítico, abierto y a mi parecer adelantado a su época (pese a que el siempre sentía que había nacido 2000 años tarde), yo creo que sus ideas siguen teniendo vigencia en el mundo actual. Su capacidad de análisis y al mismo tiempo de adaptarse a la circunstancia lo hace para mí un genio, su energía, el mérito que daba al talento y la razón, su sencillez, su política civil, y el hecho de haber vivido siempre de acuerdo a sus propios ideales,
todo esto en conjunto hacen de él la leyenda que es. Napoleon quiso unir la antigüedad con el porvenir, un ser como el suyo encontró complejo encajar en el presente que vivía.
Un libro que vale la pena leer a quien interese comprender el alma de un personaje histórico, sin embargo recomiendo altamente para leer este libro al menos conocer un poco el contexto político y mundial en que vivió Napoleon, con el fin de disfrutar su biografía de mejor manera.
November 18, 2021
Napoleon-Bestseller nach dem ersten Weltkrieg aus der Feder eines psychoanalytischen Journalisten und Gegner des preußischen Militarismus, die wohl auch den genialisch-esotherischen Führerkult-Gegenentwurf Dmitri Mereschkowskijs https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... provoziert hat.
Der in Breslau als Emil Cohn geborene Autor, der sich später die Schweizer Staatsbürgerschaft gesichert hat, während er u.a. die Macken von Wilhelm II. unter die Lupe nahm, schreibt unter demokratischen Vorzeichen. Da das Fortschrittspotenzial von dessen Reformen in den deutschen Ländern durch Nepotismus beschädigt wurde, geißelt EL autokratische und dynastische Fehlschlüsse gegen den Fortschritt und mehr Bürgerbeteiligung. Zumal der Geist der Befreiungskriege ja auch den Antisemitismus und allerlei andere Ungeister wieder hoffähig gemacht hatte, die zum wilhelministischen Deutschland gehörten.
Freunde von Schlachtengemälden werden mit dieser Darstellung kaum glücklich, es geht Ludwig in erster Linie um den Menschen und seine Motivationen, wer wissen will, wie die Schlacht von Borodino im Detail verlaufen ist und auf welchem Hügel der glücklose Feldherr indessen sein Fieber auskuriert hat, wird anderswo sicher glücklicher. Trotzdem wird bei der Lektüre klar, warum Ludwig mehr Fans als Stefan Zweig hatte, Ludwig gibt dem Publikum seiner Zeit, bei dem er die Bekanntschaft mit den Schlachten voraus setzen konnte, den Schlüssel zu oft schwer nachvollziehbaren Entscheidungen und jede Menge bislang unterdrückte und zukunftsträchtige demokratische Faktoren im Erbe Napoleons an die Hand.
Die Stärke liegt bei der Analyse der Motivation und der frühen Erfolgsfaktoren, bei den Niederlagen nach 1812 gewichtet Ludwig auch die schwächer werdende Physis und Entschlusskraft (zu) stark, lässt aber (für meinen Geschmack) strukturelle militärische Defizite außen vor: die in Russland verlorene Kavallerie, um geschlagenen Gegnern nachzusetzen. Gerade bei den Siegen vor der ersten Abdankung. Zahlreiche Defizite im Waterloo-Heer von Stäben, in denen neue Leute nicht mehr die richtigen Schlüsse aus den Winken des Kaisers ziehen können, mangelhaften Kommunikationsmitteln, bis hin zu für ihre Aufgaben ungeeigneten Kommandeuren.
Fazit: Etwas trockenes und ziemlich verblasstes Schmankerl in Sachen Wirkungsgeschichte, knapp 100 Jahre nach Erscheinen so wenig erste Wahl wie sein weltanschaulicher Gegenspieler Mereschkowskij. Beide Bücher vermitteln zwar Einblicke ins Genie, die bei aktuelleren Bios auf der Strecke bleiben, setzten aber zu viel Faktenwissen voraus, das längst nicht mehr auf der Schule vermittelt wird. Den besten frühen Gesamtzugriff auf dieses Phänomen liefert das Panorama T.P. O'Connors, der dem Rätsel aus der Perspektive unterschiedlicher Zeitgenossen auf die Spur gekommen ist und Feinde wie Fußvolk, Verlierer wie Profiteure mit bezeichnenden Aussagen zu Wort kommen lässt. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... Dort fand ich auch einige Antworten, die selbst neuere umfassende oder deutlich umfangreichere Darstellungen nicht bieten konnten.
Der in Breslau als Emil Cohn geborene Autor, der sich später die Schweizer Staatsbürgerschaft gesichert hat, während er u.a. die Macken von Wilhelm II. unter die Lupe nahm, schreibt unter demokratischen Vorzeichen. Da das Fortschrittspotenzial von dessen Reformen in den deutschen Ländern durch Nepotismus beschädigt wurde, geißelt EL autokratische und dynastische Fehlschlüsse gegen den Fortschritt und mehr Bürgerbeteiligung. Zumal der Geist der Befreiungskriege ja auch den Antisemitismus und allerlei andere Ungeister wieder hoffähig gemacht hatte, die zum wilhelministischen Deutschland gehörten.
Freunde von Schlachtengemälden werden mit dieser Darstellung kaum glücklich, es geht Ludwig in erster Linie um den Menschen und seine Motivationen, wer wissen will, wie die Schlacht von Borodino im Detail verlaufen ist und auf welchem Hügel der glücklose Feldherr indessen sein Fieber auskuriert hat, wird anderswo sicher glücklicher. Trotzdem wird bei der Lektüre klar, warum Ludwig mehr Fans als Stefan Zweig hatte, Ludwig gibt dem Publikum seiner Zeit, bei dem er die Bekanntschaft mit den Schlachten voraus setzen konnte, den Schlüssel zu oft schwer nachvollziehbaren Entscheidungen und jede Menge bislang unterdrückte und zukunftsträchtige demokratische Faktoren im Erbe Napoleons an die Hand.
Die Stärke liegt bei der Analyse der Motivation und der frühen Erfolgsfaktoren, bei den Niederlagen nach 1812 gewichtet Ludwig auch die schwächer werdende Physis und Entschlusskraft (zu) stark, lässt aber (für meinen Geschmack) strukturelle militärische Defizite außen vor: die in Russland verlorene Kavallerie, um geschlagenen Gegnern nachzusetzen. Gerade bei den Siegen vor der ersten Abdankung. Zahlreiche Defizite im Waterloo-Heer von Stäben, in denen neue Leute nicht mehr die richtigen Schlüsse aus den Winken des Kaisers ziehen können, mangelhaften Kommunikationsmitteln, bis hin zu für ihre Aufgaben ungeeigneten Kommandeuren.
Fazit: Etwas trockenes und ziemlich verblasstes Schmankerl in Sachen Wirkungsgeschichte, knapp 100 Jahre nach Erscheinen so wenig erste Wahl wie sein weltanschaulicher Gegenspieler Mereschkowskij. Beide Bücher vermitteln zwar Einblicke ins Genie, die bei aktuelleren Bios auf der Strecke bleiben, setzten aber zu viel Faktenwissen voraus, das längst nicht mehr auf der Schule vermittelt wird. Den besten frühen Gesamtzugriff auf dieses Phänomen liefert das Panorama T.P. O'Connors, der dem Rätsel aus der Perspektive unterschiedlicher Zeitgenossen auf die Spur gekommen ist und Feinde wie Fußvolk, Verlierer wie Profiteure mit bezeichnenden Aussagen zu Wort kommen lässt. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3... Dort fand ich auch einige Antworten, die selbst neuere umfassende oder deutlich umfangreichere Darstellungen nicht bieten konnten.
October 7, 2011
Awkwardly written…maybe it is the translation, but fascinating. The book is filled with direct quotes as Napoleon had secretaries taking down his thoughts throughout his life. He is born in Corsica, second eldest and in the French military.Socially awkward, aware of his lack of status, he reads all of the historical greats-Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne. His power is in his logical thinking in battle, his mathematical prowess and his memory for details. He takes power aster the revolution and slowly becomes like the Bourbon kings…giving his siblings countries to rule. His surprisingly self aware and at times consumed by his ego. other times his vision to unify Europe. His failure begins when he tries to conquer Russia and miscalculates. Russians burn their cities and retreat leaving no supplies for the French soldiers. Josephine is unfaithful. but they remain in love. Finally Napoleon divorces her to gain an heir. The heir is his blind side. Eventually his is exiles to Elba, regains power, then surrenders to the British who send him to St Helena to die. He is charismatic and the common soldier will follow him. Like Paul, he befriends his guards. He can not resolve his faith with a God that allows suffering. Honest to the end.
February 2, 2021
EN: A book that contains historically valuable information, but that manages to bore a bit in questioning the author and a descriptive handling in a confusing language that takes the author away from a key moment of the writing. Although the author affirms that he did not want to delve into the battles to give more importance to the political Napoleon and not to "General Bonaparte", but in reality, that description of the military strategic game is necessary to understand this human being.
ES: 3.7 para este libro. Un libro que contiene información valiosa históricamente, pero que logra aburrir un poco en cuestionamientos del autor y un manejo descriptivo en un lenguaje confuso que aparta al autor de un momento clave del escrito. Aunque el autor afirma que no quizo profundizar en las batallas para dale más importancia al Napoleón político y no al "general Bonaparte", pero en realidad sí hace falta esa descripción del juego estratégico militar para entender a este ser.
ES: 3.7 para este libro. Un libro que contiene información valiosa históricamente, pero que logra aburrir un poco en cuestionamientos del autor y un manejo descriptivo en un lenguaje confuso que aparta al autor de un momento clave del escrito. Aunque el autor afirma que no quizo profundizar en las batallas para dale más importancia al Napoleón político y no al "general Bonaparte", pero en realidad sí hace falta esa descripción del juego estratégico militar para entender a este ser.
November 19, 2015
Καθόλου αντικειμενική δεν μπορώ να είμαι , με ένα από τα αγαπημένα και πολυδιαβασμένο βιβλία της παιδικής και νεανικής μου ηλικίας ......
June 19, 2022
More a study of Napoleon the man than of Napoleon the context. I understand the faux psychoanalytical style was popular when this was written (early 20th century); but it's not what I look in a biography. Don't get me wrong, I think there is use to analysing the personality behind the deeds but, I still would have preferred a more formal and less "novel-like" accounting of the man. At least Ludwig confesses that such effect was intentional in the epilogue which is a plus. The book became bit of a drag by the time the Emperor went in his exile as Ludwig decided to indulge in illustrating Napoleon's traits before actually describing his life in St Helena and laying him down to rest.
P.s. I first started reading the copy I have way back, maybe when I was in class 9th or 10th but gave up midway through the Italian campaign. Picked it back up because I needed to pass time during my long commute in Delhi.
P.s. I first started reading the copy I have way back, maybe when I was in class 9th or 10th but gave up midway through the Italian campaign. Picked it back up because I needed to pass time during my long commute in Delhi.
December 30, 2022
L'unico punto debole è l'assenza totale di note e bibliografia (un lavoro immenso che sarebbe però stato molto interessante). Per il resto è un'interessantissima opera a metà tra biografia pura e il romanzo introspettivo. Dalla grande massa di citazioni, episodi, aneddoti, emergono molto bene le specificità di Napoleone (rapporto con l'Oriente, l'unità d'Europa, il senso della famiglia ecc.) che, da solo, fu persino superiore ad un fenomeno storico già di per sè gigantesco quale la Rivoluzione Francese.
November 14, 2016
Masterpiece....
Until this book, i have no idea about Napoleon. Of course heard a lot of things but accuretly never know him. This book help everyone to know who is he.
When i read critics about this book, many dislike about lack of sources. I hate notes when i read books. Books always written like a water flow.
Emil Ludwig write this book like Zweig wrote about Fouche.
Until this book, i have no idea about Napoleon. Of course heard a lot of things but accuretly never know him. This book help everyone to know who is he.
When i read critics about this book, many dislike about lack of sources. I hate notes when i read books. Books always written like a water flow.
Emil Ludwig write this book like Zweig wrote about Fouche.
December 22, 2019
Brilliant journey to the psyche of my favourite war general in pre and post- revolution Europe. Never gets old.
February 8, 2025
1769’da Korsika’da dünyaya gelmiş bir İtaylandır. Annesi Letizia’dır. Babası büyük Korsika komutanı Paili’nin yaveridir.
16 yaşında asteğmen rütbesine ulaşır, hırslı, başarılı ve melankoliktir. O yıllardaki en büyük ideali doğduğu topraklar Korsika’yı kurtarmak olacaktır.
Teğmen olduğu zamanlarda Korsika’yı almak için uğraşır ama başarılı olamaz ve ardından Fransa’ya döner. Bu sefer yüzbaşı olacaktır. Kısa sürede gösterdiği başarıdan ve Toulun seferinden
Sonra Tuğgeneralliğe yükselecektir.
27 yaşında ilk karısı Josephine ile 27 yaşındayken evlenecektir. Önce orta Avrupa seferlerine başlar sonrada idolü olduğu doğuya açılır. Karısı onu sevmeyecektir, çocukları olmaz ama Napoleon onu hiçbir zaman bırakmak istemeyecektir.
Avrupada savaş çıkınca tekrar geri döner ve Paris’de hükümet darbesini yapar, önce diktatör olur sonrada 37 yaşında 18404 yılında Fransa imparatoru olur.
Daha sonra Polonyalı genç, güzel Kontes Walewska ile tanışır, birlikte olur ama onunla evlenmez. Avusturyalı Marie Louise ile evlenip çocuk sahibi olacaktır. Bunu yapmak için en büyük kardeş, Louis’i de boşanmaya ikna etmek ister, sonra kendisi de Josephine’den boşanacaktır.
Daha sonra Moskova ve Leipzig savaşlarına katılır yine Paris’ döner. Son zamanlarında onu zor günler bekleyecek ve Elba adasına sürgüne gidecektir.
16 yaşında asteğmen rütbesine ulaşır, hırslı, başarılı ve melankoliktir. O yıllardaki en büyük ideali doğduğu topraklar Korsika’yı kurtarmak olacaktır.
Teğmen olduğu zamanlarda Korsika’yı almak için uğraşır ama başarılı olamaz ve ardından Fransa’ya döner. Bu sefer yüzbaşı olacaktır. Kısa sürede gösterdiği başarıdan ve Toulun seferinden
Sonra Tuğgeneralliğe yükselecektir.
27 yaşında ilk karısı Josephine ile 27 yaşındayken evlenecektir. Önce orta Avrupa seferlerine başlar sonrada idolü olduğu doğuya açılır. Karısı onu sevmeyecektir, çocukları olmaz ama Napoleon onu hiçbir zaman bırakmak istemeyecektir.
Avrupada savaş çıkınca tekrar geri döner ve Paris’de hükümet darbesini yapar, önce diktatör olur sonrada 37 yaşında 18404 yılında Fransa imparatoru olur.
Daha sonra Polonyalı genç, güzel Kontes Walewska ile tanışır, birlikte olur ama onunla evlenmez. Avusturyalı Marie Louise ile evlenip çocuk sahibi olacaktır. Bunu yapmak için en büyük kardeş, Louis’i de boşanmaya ikna etmek ister, sonra kendisi de Josephine’den boşanacaktır.
Daha sonra Moskova ve Leipzig savaşlarına katılır yine Paris’ döner. Son zamanlarında onu zor günler bekleyecek ve Elba adasına sürgüne gidecektir.
May 11, 2010
Ludwig tells us in a kind of afterword that his biography "may give the impression of being a work of pure fancy" but goes on to assure us that he clings "to the framework of historical truth." True, the intimacy and immediacy he has wrought with Napoleon is at first questionable, but is in the end (actually not all that far from the beginning!) acceptable and appreciated. Ludwig is no unbiased observer, but he balances his obvious admiration of Napoleon with honest assessment of his flaws.
A bit daunting at 682 very thin pages in very small type, and written in an initially annoying present tense, the book is well worth the effort I had to expand.
However: I searched in vain for passages about the Louisiana Territory. In 1924 (the publication year) was that historic purchase deemed unimportant? What about the Haitian Revolution? Is this trustworthy history? On the other hand, I am gratefull that the book was no longer!
A bit daunting at 682 very thin pages in very small type, and written in an initially annoying present tense, the book is well worth the effort I had to expand.
However: I searched in vain for passages about the Louisiana Territory. In 1924 (the publication year) was that historic purchase deemed unimportant? What about the Haitian Revolution? Is this trustworthy history? On the other hand, I am gratefull that the book was no longer!
April 25, 2020
This book is about a legend.His name is NAPOLEON.Before this book I know a little thing about Napoleon from historical books and he is normal general for me but after this book I admire Napoleon Bonapart and Emil Ludwig describe Napoleon’s everything perfectly.
February 1, 2022
No soy afecto a la lectura de biografías, hace algunos meses empecé a releer la biografía de Trotsky escrita por Isaac Deutscher, ahora he leído esta obra, de un personaje muy distinto, pero ambos libros fueron espléndidamente escritos. Se leen como si fueran una novela. Me permito recomendarlos.
June 5, 2024
Încă o biografie a lui Napoleon Bonaparte, probabil una dintre acele peste 60.000 cărți care s-au scris despre el (din păcate, în 2024 nu mai putem spune că s-au scris mai multe cărți despre el decât au trecut zile de la moartea sa, diferența fiind undeva pe la 10.000).
În prezent, opera de față nu iese în evidență cu aparent nimic, spre deosebire de momentul ediției princeps din 1922, când tocmai se împlineau 101 de ani de la moartea Împăratului iar materialele și studiile pe acest subiect erau mai limitate (cel puțin cantitativ... dar poate și analitic). Stilul autorului este de narator omniscient, de biografie semi-romanțată, în care personajele istorice dialoghează liber printre date istorice răzlețe, timpul este la prezentul persoanei a III-a, iar evenimentele de cancelarie se întrepătrund cu întâmplări burlești, probabil apocrife. Fix acest stil a stat la baza creării unui hotar important în studiul epocii napoleoniene - dar astăzi este total depășit. Cel puțin în varianta autohtonă, autorul nu-și numește sursele, alăturând fără probleme surse părtinitoare cu unele calomniatoare vizibil, totul în favoarea unui fir epic mai interesant. Autorul german, jurnalist și scriitor prolific de biografii este un exemplu de succes al literaturii evreiești de exil, cum este numit curentul acesta care s-a manifestat în timpul celui de-al doilea Război Mondial printre cei "fugiți din țara" naziștilor. De asemenea, reiese din paginile manuscrisului că l-au interesat puțin înspre minim faptele de arme ale lui Napoleon, irosind doar trei rânduri pentru cea mai faimoasă victorie a sa, de la Austerlitz și aproximativ o jumătate de pagină pentru înfrângerea de la Waterloo. Lucru care nu trebuie criticat dpdv stilistic, fiind clar o alegere deliberată, dar aceasta indicând în mod simplu limitările autorului și/sau ale surselor cu care a lucrat. Concomitent, se petrec aproape 50-60 de pagini pe insula Sfânta Elena, locul exilului final al lui Bonaparte, dar și al morții sale. O etapă atât de plictisitoare și anostă din viața sa încât nu este exclus să presupui că i-a grăbit sfârșitul cu cel puțin un deceniu. Napoleonul creionat de Ludwig este multifațetat, dar lipsit de profunzime și de o idee centrală care să-i însăileze întregul caracter - probabil cea mai bună dovadă a deficitarei percepții în profunzimea firii personajului central prezentat de către autor.
PS: faptul că ediția română din 2019 prezintă numeroase greșeli de tipar și de ortografie, precum și că folosește aceeași traducere arhaică a lui Eman. Corbu din anul 1924 când a apărut prima dată în România, nu-i aduce niciun beneficiu în calcului notei finale, ba chiar o face de nerecomandat.
În prezent, opera de față nu iese în evidență cu aparent nimic, spre deosebire de momentul ediției princeps din 1922, când tocmai se împlineau 101 de ani de la moartea Împăratului iar materialele și studiile pe acest subiect erau mai limitate (cel puțin cantitativ... dar poate și analitic). Stilul autorului este de narator omniscient, de biografie semi-romanțată, în care personajele istorice dialoghează liber printre date istorice răzlețe, timpul este la prezentul persoanei a III-a, iar evenimentele de cancelarie se întrepătrund cu întâmplări burlești, probabil apocrife. Fix acest stil a stat la baza creării unui hotar important în studiul epocii napoleoniene - dar astăzi este total depășit. Cel puțin în varianta autohtonă, autorul nu-și numește sursele, alăturând fără probleme surse părtinitoare cu unele calomniatoare vizibil, totul în favoarea unui fir epic mai interesant. Autorul german, jurnalist și scriitor prolific de biografii este un exemplu de succes al literaturii evreiești de exil, cum este numit curentul acesta care s-a manifestat în timpul celui de-al doilea Război Mondial printre cei "fugiți din țara" naziștilor. De asemenea, reiese din paginile manuscrisului că l-au interesat puțin înspre minim faptele de arme ale lui Napoleon, irosind doar trei rânduri pentru cea mai faimoasă victorie a sa, de la Austerlitz și aproximativ o jumătate de pagină pentru înfrângerea de la Waterloo. Lucru care nu trebuie criticat dpdv stilistic, fiind clar o alegere deliberată, dar aceasta indicând în mod simplu limitările autorului și/sau ale surselor cu care a lucrat. Concomitent, se petrec aproape 50-60 de pagini pe insula Sfânta Elena, locul exilului final al lui Bonaparte, dar și al morții sale. O etapă atât de plictisitoare și anostă din viața sa încât nu este exclus să presupui că i-a grăbit sfârșitul cu cel puțin un deceniu. Napoleonul creionat de Ludwig este multifațetat, dar lipsit de profunzime și de o idee centrală care să-i însăileze întregul caracter - probabil cea mai bună dovadă a deficitarei percepții în profunzimea firii personajului central prezentat de către autor.
PS: faptul că ediția română din 2019 prezintă numeroase greșeli de tipar și de ortografie, precum și că folosește aceeași traducere arhaică a lui Eman. Corbu din anul 1924 când a apărut prima dată în România, nu-i aduce niciun beneficiu în calcului notei finale, ba chiar o face de nerecomandat.
May 5, 2022
The author said himself “Here lays an attempt to narrate Napoleon’s internal history” and he very much stayed true to that… and, in my opinion, it was the most successful and ingenious attempt, for this book contained everything necessary for an understanding of the famous political genius and emperor Napoleon I. His personality, his ideas as a founder of a state, as a legislator, his positions between revolution and legitimacy, his every hour of melancholy or pride, his every conflict with unobeying relatives or woman, his every word to his generals or women as preserved to us in letters or guaranteed conversations, which are more important than the plan of the battle of Marengo, the peace of Luneville, or the details of the treaty of continental blockade. His whole character as which he publicly and privately appeared as, the image of the man is here portrayed magnificiently.
It is even better as I got to experience the whole book from an original printout from 1932 which I recently bought most cheaply at an antiquarin bookshop for just 300 Czech crowns. Would totally buy for triple the prize!
It is even better as I got to experience the whole book from an original printout from 1932 which I recently bought most cheaply at an antiquarin bookshop for just 300 Czech crowns. Would totally buy for triple the prize!
March 17, 2024
Es un relato novelizado en su mayor parte, aunque también con algunos soliloquios de analisis del escritor para profundizar en su opinión sobre el carácter de nuestro personaje, sus decisiones y actuar. Alguna vez escuche a alguien decir, que un historiador difícilmente es un buen novelista, y en este caso creo que es verdad. Llegue a la mitad del libro, pero la verdad la novelizacion de la historia por momentos era redundante, a veces exageraba en enmarcar demasiado un momento del tiempo en que Napoléon interactuaba con alguien, llevando ya demasiado lejos palabras, opiniones, emociones de las cuales no necesariamente se tiene constancia, en momentos así, se me hacia tediosa la lectura y el poco avance en los hechos en sí mismos, y en el contexto asociado a la escena que nos estaba describiendo. Decidí finalmente cambiar por una autobiografía que fuera más rigurosa con la cronología de los hechos y nos expusiera con referencias claras, los hechos relevantes en la vida de este personaje.
April 6, 2024
Amazing book. The portrayal of Napoleon's story in this book is something unlike any other. The book almost feels like a fiction book rather than a historical one, although never compromising with the realism and the facts of the events presented. The build-up given to certain moments and their description are presented vividly, almost as if you're reading a play.
I do feel though, that someone more informed and well read in these topics would likely enjoy the book even more. Nevertheless, this book encouraged me to read further than the episodes described in the book, ultimately proving to be informative in more ways than one.
I do feel though, that someone more informed and well read in these topics would likely enjoy the book even more. Nevertheless, this book encouraged me to read further than the episodes described in the book, ultimately proving to be informative in more ways than one.
November 16, 2021
The gargoyle lowers the book, his eyes shining with a faraway look. Is he contemplating a complete and utter abandonment of this well-loved tome of fiction-y biography? Is he finding it difficult to follow the narrative thread, as it is continually overrun by dramatic statements and hypothetical questions? Lo! How the book does mock him! Observe as the gargoyle tackles the book yet again, attempting to force his way through. Shall he fail for the third time, resigning himself in defeat? It cannot be! But witness - the gargoyle, book under arm, is traversing the neighborhood. Ahead - in the distance! The Little Library! And, with much regret, the deed is done! The book has a new locus, and the gargoyle has tallied up his “failed to finish” of the calendar year!
December 13, 2020
A long and plodding read, this biography suffers from a number of faults. First springing characters without at all introducing theme, as if the writer assumed that the reader is familiar with the history of those times, and second, long winded psycho-analysis of Napoleon's mind. Third, Napoleon's battles are mentioned casually with absolutely no details provided. And to top it, an infuriating phrase repeated over and over, "What is Paris saying ?"
April 19, 2013
Napoleon was born on the island of Corsica. He went to France because France took over Corsica. He had a strange accent. His spelling was terrible. He defeated Egypt, Spain, Italy, basically all of Europe but Great Britain. He tried to be a good general but failed because of having too much power.
January 31, 2008
Top of the line
September 29, 2012
An excellent biography, the prose is heartfelt but the objectivity of the narrative is no way disrupted.
July 23, 2013
I had a hard time putting this down. I don't know how accurate but it certainly gives you a sense of what his life may have been like as emperor if France.
June 2, 2014
33rd book read in 2014.
Number 213 out of 377 on my all time book list.
Follow the link below to see my video review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGjDi...
Number 213 out of 377 on my all time book list.
Follow the link below to see my video review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGjDi...
August 29, 2023
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Πριν λίγες μέρες διάβασα και πραγματικά απόλαυσα το καταπληκτικό βιβλίο του Στέφαν Τσβάιχ για τη ζωή της Μαρίας Αντουανέτας και την εποχή στην οποία έζησε η συγκεκριμένη βασίλισσα, έτσι αυτό το βιβλίο μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι αποτελεί μια συνέχεια, τουλάχιστον όσον αφορά τη Γαλλία εκείνων των χρόνων. Φυσικά, η ζωή και το έργο του Ναπολέοντα απέχουν παρασάγγας από τη ζωή και το έργο της Μαρίας Αντουανέτας, όπως επίσης το στιλ γραφής και παρουσίασης της εποχής από τον Τσβάιχ διαφέρει κατά πολύ από το αντίστοιχο στιλ του Λούντβιχ. Το "Ναπολέων" το βρήκα κάπως πιο βαρύ, και σαν γραφή και σαν θεματολογία, πιο περίπλοκο όσον αφορά την παρουσίαση της εποχής, ας πούμε πιο πυκνό σε ιστορικά γεγονότα, πολιτικές μηχανορραφίες κ.λπ., χρειάστηκε αρκετές φορές να σταματήσω λίγο την ανάγνωση και να ψάξω κάποια πράγματα στο ίντερνετ, σχετικά με πρόσωπα, συμμαχίες, πολέμους, περιοχές, βασίλεια, και πάει λέγοντας. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι εκείνα τα χρόνια, στα χρόνια του Ναπολέοντα δηλαδή, τα πράγματα ήταν πολύ μπερδεμένα και ταραγμένα, με όλα τα βασίλεια, τα δουκάτα, τους βασιλιάδες, τους στρατηγούς, τις συμμαχίες, τις αντιπαλότητες, τις συνωμοσίες, τις προδοσίες... ο κακός χαμός λέμε! Δύσκολο να βγάλεις άκρη. Πάντως το βιβλίο μου άρεσε, μου προσέφερε πάρα πολλά, με διαφώτισε ολίγον τι σχετικά με τον Ναπολέοντα και την εποχή στην οποία έζησε, μεγαλούργησε και πέθανε, και η γραφή του Λούντβιχ εδώ που τα λέμε δεν ήταν όσο βαριά φοβόμουν ότι θα ήταν, αντίθετα τη βρήκα αρκετά ευκολοδιάβαστη και σε σημεία καθηλωτική. Πάντως οφείλω να πω ότι ο Λούντβιχ δεν έδωσε και πολύ βάρος στις μάχες και τις εκστρατείες αυτές καθαυτές, δεν υπάρχουν δηλαδή πολλές περιγραφές από τις μάχες, τις στρατηγικές κινήσεις των αντιμαχόμενων πλευρών κ.λπ., ουσιαστικά έδωσε περισσότερο βάθος στον χαρακτήρα του Ναπολέοντα, στην προσωπικότητά του, στις σχέσεις του με τους ανθρώπους γύρω του, στα όνειρά που είχε για την Ευρώπη, και ούτω καθεξής. Ίσως να μην είναι και το απόλυτο βιβλίο για τον συγκεκριμένο άνθρωπο (άλλωστε θεωρώ δύσκολο να χωρέσουν όλα όσα συνιστούν και αφορούν τον Ναπολέοντα σε ένα μονάχα βιβλίο), πάντως είναι ένα πολύ αξιόλογο και καλογραμμένο βιβλίο που αναδεικνύει με τον τρόπο του τη μεγάλη και αμφιλεγόμενη αυτή προσωπικότητα!
Πριν λίγες μέρες διάβασα και πραγματικά απόλαυσα το καταπληκτικό βιβλίο του Στέφαν Τσβάιχ για τη ζωή της Μαρίας Αντουανέτας και την εποχή στην οποία έζησε η συγκεκριμένη βασίλισσα, έτσι αυτό το βιβλίο μπορεί να πει κανείς ότι αποτελεί μια συνέχεια, τουλάχιστον όσον αφορά τη Γαλλία εκείνων των χρόνων. Φυσικά, η ζωή και το έργο του Ναπολέοντα απέχουν παρασάγγας από τη ζωή και το έργο της Μαρίας Αντουανέτας, όπως επίσης το στιλ γραφής και παρουσίασης της εποχής από τον Τσβάιχ διαφέρει κατά πολύ από το αντίστοιχο στιλ του Λούντβιχ. Το "Ναπολέων" το βρήκα κάπως πιο βαρύ, και σαν γραφή και σαν θεματολογία, πιο περίπλοκο όσον αφορά την παρουσίαση της εποχής, ας πούμε πιο πυκνό σε ιστορικά γεγονότα, πολιτικές μηχανορραφίες κ.λπ., χρειάστηκε αρκετές φορές να σταματήσω λίγο την ανάγνωση και να ψάξω κάποια πράγματα στο ίντερνετ, σχετικά με πρόσωπα, συμμαχίες, πολέμους, περιοχές, βασίλεια, και πάει λέγοντας. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι εκείνα τα χρόνια, στα χρόνια του Ναπολέοντα δηλαδή, τα πράγματα ήταν πολύ μπερδεμένα και ταραγμένα, με όλα τα βασίλεια, τα δουκάτα, τους βασιλιάδες, τους στρατηγούς, τις συμμαχίες, τις αντιπαλότητες, τις συνωμοσίες, τις προδοσίες... ο κακός χαμός λέμε! Δύσκολο να βγάλεις άκρη. Πάντως το βιβλίο μου άρεσε, μου προσέφερε πάρα πολλά, με διαφώτισε ολίγον τι σχετικά με τον Ναπολέοντα και την εποχή στην οποία έζησε, μεγαλούργησε και πέθανε, και η γραφή του Λούντβιχ εδώ που τα λέμε δεν ήταν όσο βαριά φοβόμουν ότι θα ήταν, αντίθετα τη βρήκα αρκετά ευκολοδιάβαστη και σε σημεία καθηλωτική. Πάντως οφείλω να πω ότι ο Λούντβιχ δεν έδωσε και πολύ βάρος στις μάχες και τις εκστρατείες αυτές καθαυτές, δεν υπάρχουν δηλαδή πολλές περιγραφές από τις μάχες, τις στρατηγικές κινήσεις των αντιμαχόμενων πλευρών κ.λπ., ουσιαστικά έδωσε περισσότερο βάθος στον χαρακτήρα του Ναπολέοντα, στην προσωπικότητά του, στις σχέσεις του με τους ανθρώπους γύρω του, στα όνειρά που είχε για την Ευρώπη, και ούτω καθεξής. Ίσως να μην είναι και το απόλυτο βιβλίο για τον συγκεκριμένο άνθρωπο (άλλωστε θεωρώ δύσκολο να χωρέσουν όλα όσα συνιστούν και αφορούν τον Ναπολέοντα σε ένα μονάχα βιβλίο), πάντως είναι ένα πολύ αξιόλογο και καλογραμμένο βιβλίο που αναδεικνύει με τον τρόπο του τη μεγάλη και αμφιλεγόμενη αυτή προσωπικότητα!
December 29, 2024
Книга вразила своїм стилем, де автор, дотримуючись історичних фактів та доповнюючи їх своїми художніми образами, намагається написати історію душі Наполеона.
“То, что мы узнавали о нем в школах и университетах, здесь сведено к минимуму. И наоборот — здесь детально изображено все, чего не было там: не только интимная жизнь Наполеона, преимущественно описывавшаяся во Франции, а именно вся его личность в общественном и частном спектре как притча о Человеке. На одной и той же странице говорится о его государственных делах и любовных интрижках, ведь они случились в один день, происходят из одного источника и обуславливают друг друга, а душевное смятение человека часто позволяет глубже проникнуть в его великие планы, чем все расчеты тактика.”
Дуже сподобались назви розділів, де автор зображує життєвий шлях Наполеона через метафори та ретельно підібрані епіграфи.
Книга І: Остров
Легенда о Наполеоне
представляется мне чем-то похожей
на откровение Иоанна Богослова:
каждый чувствует,
что за этим скрывается
еще что-то,
только никто не знает что.
ГЕТЕ
Книга II: Водопад
Божественное озарение
всегда связано
с молодостью и энергией.
И Наполеон был
одним из самых энергичных людей,
когда-либо живших на земле.
ГЕТЕ
Книга III: Поток
То, что веками смутно наблюдали,
Насквозь он видит силою ума.
Все мелкое уходит в сини дали:
Лишь море важно да земля сама.
ГЕТЕ
Книга IV: Море
Человек должен вернуться во прах!..
Но поскольку здесь, на земле, все происходит естественным путем, то демоны все время
подставляют человеку ножку:
так в конце концов погиб и Наполеон.
ГЕТЕ
Книга V: Скала
Страшный суд настал, и у Божьего трона
Узрели героя Наполеона.
Дьявол все его грехи перечислил
И все злодеянья, что он замыслил.
Тогда Бог-Сын или Бог-Отец
• С престола Господня изрек наконец:
«Не оскорбляй божественный слух!
Как немецкий профессор, ты глуп и глух.
А если желаешь с ним поквитаться,
То можешь с ним вместе в ад отправляться».
“Потухший вулкан в Мировом океане, в двух тысячах миль от Европы и почти тысяче миль от Африки, утыканный английскими пушками: остров Святой Елены — скала, на которой окончится жизнь этого одержимого человека.”
“То, что мы узнавали о нем в школах и университетах, здесь сведено к минимуму. И наоборот — здесь детально изображено все, чего не было там: не только интимная жизнь Наполеона, преимущественно описывавшаяся во Франции, а именно вся его личность в общественном и частном спектре как притча о Человеке. На одной и той же странице говорится о его государственных делах и любовных интрижках, ведь они случились в один день, происходят из одного источника и обуславливают друг друга, а душевное смятение человека часто позволяет глубже проникнуть в его великие планы, чем все расчеты тактика.”
Дуже сподобались назви розділів, де автор зображує життєвий шлях Наполеона через метафори та ретельно підібрані епіграфи.
Книга І: Остров
Легенда о Наполеоне
представляется мне чем-то похожей
на откровение Иоанна Богослова:
каждый чувствует,
что за этим скрывается
еще что-то,
только никто не знает что.
ГЕТЕ
Книга II: Водопад
Божественное озарение
всегда связано
с молодостью и энергией.
И Наполеон был
одним из самых энергичных людей,
когда-либо живших на земле.
ГЕТЕ
Книга III: Поток
То, что веками смутно наблюдали,
Насквозь он видит силою ума.
Все мелкое уходит в сини дали:
Лишь море важно да земля сама.
ГЕТЕ
Книга IV: Море
Человек должен вернуться во прах!..
Но поскольку здесь, на земле, все происходит естественным путем, то демоны все время
подставляют человеку ножку:
так в конце концов погиб и Наполеон.
ГЕТЕ
Книга V: Скала
Страшный суд настал, и у Божьего трона
Узрели героя Наполеона.
Дьявол все его грехи перечислил
И все злодеянья, что он замыслил.
Тогда Бог-Сын или Бог-Отец
• С престола Господня изрек наконец:
«Не оскорбляй божественный слух!
Как немецкий профессор, ты глуп и глух.
А если желаешь с ним поквитаться,
То можешь с ним вместе в ад отправляться».
“Потухший вулкан в Мировом океане, в двух тысячах миль от Европы и почти тысяче миль от Африки, утыканный английскими пушками: остров Святой Елены — скала, на которой окончится жизнь этого одержимого человека.”
October 30, 2021
A moving biography! Napoleon's story is much more than a man's journey from oblivion to the center stage in the world. It's an embodiment of courage, resilience, and faith in the midst of great crises. He fought 60 battles and rose triumphant over his foes in the majority of them. How is it he never got killed or even once fatally injured on the battlefield? Was it sheer luck he got on his side? Or was it some (unfairly) magnificent combination of self-confidence, energy, and imagination?
What a read! Getting to know a man's struggle for glory, his conduct at the height of success, and his perseverance in the hours of gloom. Napolean's story towards the end of his life is particularly heart-touching. He lived with the realization that his star was about to set, but never gave up in the face of adversity... Here are my favorite lines from the book: [Towards the end of his life, after his surrender, when Napoleon was confined to the damp, windswept and unhealthy island of St. Helena...]:
\\ When the governor approaches, the Emperor, warned by his vedettes, hastens indoors, and tells his servants to say he is "not at home." Once, however, he is taken by surprise in the garden; Lowe bluntly tells him that his establishment is too costly, and asks him to cut down expenses. The soldier flames in the Emperor.
"How dare to talk to me of such matters. you're nothing but a gaoler. You have only commanded brigands and deserters. I know the name of every English general who has won distinctions. All I have ever heard of you is that you were one of Blucher's quilldrivers, and a robber captain who never had the honour of commanding real soldiers. Don't send me any more food! I will take meals with those brave fellows of your 35th, over there; not one of them will refuse to share his rations with an old fellow-soldier. You can dispose of my life as you please, but not of my heart. That is still as proud on this rock as it was when all Europe was awaiting my orders. You would stick at nothing. You would poison me if you had the courage, or were sent orders to do so!"
Without a word, the governor turns on his heel, mounts his horse, and gallops away. The emperor compares past and present. "In the Tuileries, I should have blushed at such a scene."
Forever, the governor remains on the watch, negotiates about details with the Emperor's companions, but does not see the living Napoleon again. \\
What a read! Getting to know a man's struggle for glory, his conduct at the height of success, and his perseverance in the hours of gloom. Napolean's story towards the end of his life is particularly heart-touching. He lived with the realization that his star was about to set, but never gave up in the face of adversity... Here are my favorite lines from the book: [Towards the end of his life, after his surrender, when Napoleon was confined to the damp, windswept and unhealthy island of St. Helena...]:
\\ When the governor approaches, the Emperor, warned by his vedettes, hastens indoors, and tells his servants to say he is "not at home." Once, however, he is taken by surprise in the garden; Lowe bluntly tells him that his establishment is too costly, and asks him to cut down expenses. The soldier flames in the Emperor.
"How dare to talk to me of such matters. you're nothing but a gaoler. You have only commanded brigands and deserters. I know the name of every English general who has won distinctions. All I have ever heard of you is that you were one of Blucher's quilldrivers, and a robber captain who never had the honour of commanding real soldiers. Don't send me any more food! I will take meals with those brave fellows of your 35th, over there; not one of them will refuse to share his rations with an old fellow-soldier. You can dispose of my life as you please, but not of my heart. That is still as proud on this rock as it was when all Europe was awaiting my orders. You would stick at nothing. You would poison me if you had the courage, or were sent orders to do so!"
Without a word, the governor turns on his heel, mounts his horse, and gallops away. The emperor compares past and present. "In the Tuileries, I should have blushed at such a scene."
Forever, the governor remains on the watch, negotiates about details with the Emperor's companions, but does not see the living Napoleon again. \\
October 29, 2023
The story of Napoleon is the story of genius, the description of an artist during his journey through destiny. We go along the emotional ride — sometimes missing historical context — silently observing the doings of the greatest of men, a son of the revolution, executioner of fate.
One can't help but feel amazed by the exceptional character of him who, defenseless against love, passionately executed every other deed. Conquering the entirety of Europe with brilliant command to the point of enemies retreating wherever he stood and attacked where he didn't, his is one of the most interesting, blindly ambitious lives and it's a joy to read.
There is something quite personal about this approach to biographical storytelling where we follow the thoughts more than the timeline, even if it does sometimes miss some very needed context. However, I must say that either previous knowledge or an external source of historical continuity are needed in order to truly enjoy the book (the author jumps through time as he feels like, ignoring battles or important key developments).
existentially inspiring. good rep for frenchman. tragically beautiful
One can't help but feel amazed by the exceptional character of him who, defenseless against love, passionately executed every other deed. Conquering the entirety of Europe with brilliant command to the point of enemies retreating wherever he stood and attacked where he didn't, his is one of the most interesting, blindly ambitious lives and it's a joy to read.
There is something quite personal about this approach to biographical storytelling where we follow the thoughts more than the timeline, even if it does sometimes miss some very needed context. However, I must say that either previous knowledge or an external source of historical continuity are needed in order to truly enjoy the book (the author jumps through time as he feels like, ignoring battles or important key developments).
existentially inspiring. good rep for frenchman. tragically beautiful
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