Napoleon — Andrew Roberts

Roberts's biography of Napoleon draws on the emperor's own correspondence — including sixty thousand letters — and on extensive French, British, and international archives to produce the most comprehensive single-volume life in English. The book treats Napoleon as a military and political genius of the first order without ignoring the scale of suffering his ambition produced. Roberts is particularly acute on the Russian campaign and on the relationship between Napoleon's methods and his ultimate failure: the way his very effectiveness as a commander prevented the development of subordinates capable of replacing him.

Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. 'The definitive Napoleon for our times. Roberts writes with authority, balance, and a gift for the telling detail.' — Andrew Motion. 'Monumental. Roberts's Napoleon is a triumph of historical biography.' — Sunday Times