World History

Having grown up in the US, I learned almost nothing about European history in school. Once we kicked George III out, Europe ceased to exist until WWI (briefly) and then again beginning w/WWII. What little I learned came from independent reading, which was more than a little spotty. This bio, at the beginning, frequently refers to events of the French Revolution, seeming to assume that the reader is already familiar therewith (author Alan Schom was educated in US and England, now lives in France, so a safe assumption at home but not in the American market). It was the French Revolution and the rebuilding of the French military that gave Bonaparte his big chance.

Of course it's tempting to see parallels between "The Little General" and Anus Orange. They share haughtiness, arrogance, headstrongness (headstrength ?), impatience, an expectation of personal loyalty which is never returned, a breathtaking capacity for outrageous, easily discredited lies, and extreme cruelty. (The revolutionaries sent many of their countryman to the guillotine; Bonaparte mowed them down with batteries of cannon.) Both were philanderers (but so was everyone in French leadership, apparently -- Josephine was dating Napoleon every other night, and on the other nights alternating between two other men). Where he differs is that he had more education, more intelligence, more knowledge of strategy and tactics, and more actual accomplishments, often winning against fantastic odds after having risen from financial ruin after his family was forced to flee Corsica. Oh, and let's not forget he regarded Russia as an enemy. So the differences are perhaps more informative than the similarities. Both less than admirable men, in most regards, but able to convince/threaten/brainwash/kidnap others to follow them, often beyond any remotely reasonable expectations. Sadly, not the only such examples in our history. It is sadly necessary to study such men to be better prepared to deal with them.

When I say "less than admirable", I am reflecting the fact that the most impressive quote by NB I have yet come across is the following: "Calm has been completely restored in Cairo ... every night we have another thirty or so heads lopped off." The heads in question were Egyptian, mostly Arab, despite NB claiming to have "rescued" Egypt from Ottoman rule to "free" the populace from oppression. So much for la mission civilisatrice.