Best Books About Napoleon Bonaparte: Essential Reading on History's Most Analyzed Leader

More books have been written about Napoleon Bonaparte than any other historical figure. Most are hagiographies or condemnations. The books below are the best of the more balanced, seriously researched works.

Best Books About Napoleon Bonaparte

1. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Roberts had unprecedented access to 40,000 letters Napoleon wrote that had not been previously catalogued. The result is the most comprehensive one-volume biography in English. Roberts is clearly an admirer but is not uncritical. The military sections are superb.

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2. The Age of Napoleon by Will and Ariel Durant

The Durant's signature blend of narrative history and cultural analysis applied to the Napoleonic era. Covers not just Napoleon but the entire social and intellectual world of early 19th century Europe. Readable and sweeping.

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3. Waterloo by Andrew Roberts

Roberts turns his attention to Napoleon's final battle. A focused, day-by-day account of the Waterloo campaign based on extensive primary sources, including newly discovered letters. Excellent companion to his full biography.

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4. The Mind of Napoleon edited by J. Christopher Herold

A compilation of Napoleon's own words on war, statecraft, religion, literature, and women. Reveals the breadth of his intellect and the contradictions in his character. Essential for understanding how he thought.

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5. Napoleon's Wars by Charles Esdaile

Esdaile is the leading critic of the Napoleonic legend. He argues that Napoleon was primarily responsible for the catastrophic wars that killed perhaps 3.5 million people. A necessary counterweight to the admiring biographies.

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6. Austerlitz by Ian Castle

A focused account of Napoleon's greatest tactical victory, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Castle reconstructs the battle hour by hour using period maps and detailed primary sources. The best single-battle study of the Napoleonic Wars.

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7. The Napoleonic Wars by David Gates

A compact, authoritative overview of all the Napoleonic campaigns for readers who want strategic context without the biography. Gates is an excellent military historian who explains not just what happened but why each campaign unfolded as it did.

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8. Napoleon and the Hundred Days by Stephen Coote

Coote focuses on the final period from Napoleon's escape from Elba through Waterloo and his second abdication. A fast-moving narrative that captures the desperate improvisation of Napoleon's last campaign.

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9. Bourrienne and His Times by Napoleon's Secretary

Bourrienne served as Napoleon's personal secretary and his memoir is the most intimate portrait of Napoleon in private. He was eventually dismissed after financial impropriety, so there is an edge to his account. Invaluable primary source.

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10. Napoleon the Great by Andrew Roberts (UK Edition)

The UK edition of Roberts's biography with some additional material. If you can only read one Napoleon book, this is it. Comprehensive, balanced, and compulsively readable across its 800+ pages.

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Where to Start

If you are new to Napoleon, begin with Roberts's biography for the narrative, then read Esdaile for the critical counterpoint. The combination gives you both the traditional and revisionist perspectives and lets you form your own view of one of history's most contested figures.