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Article: The Bonapartes. The History of a Dynasty.(Book review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- June 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Bonapartes. The History of a Dynasty. By William H. C. Smith. (New York, N.Y.: Hambledon, 2005. Pp. ix, 252. $29.95.)
According to the author of this book, Napoleon was one of the "great men" of history, a leader whose "astonishing career" was a "reflection of his genius" (4). William H. C. Smith takes at face value Napoleon's self-assessment as "a superior being" and is consequently reluctant to criticize anything about the man who seized power in a coup d'etat, ruled as a dictator, and waged a series of wars that cost three million lives (12). "The decision to leave his army blockaded in Egypt and to return to France," Smith tells us, referring to ...