Andrew Roberts

His constant references to the ancient world have the effect of giving ordinary soldiers a sense of their lives.

For a man who was to exhibit such acute political sharpness later in his career, Napoleon completely misread the revolution's opening stages. 'I repeat what I have said to you,' he wrote to Joseph on July 22, a week after the fall of the Bastille, 'calm will return. In a month, there will no longer be a question of anything. So, if you send me 300 livres [7,500 francs] I will go to Paris to terminate our business.

One of the chief values reading history, this is the author, is its capacity to "provoke renegade thoughts".

No man is considered just and virtuous who does not know whence he came and wither he is going. _ Napoleon

I am very happy to see the enemy wish to avoid our coming to him. _ Napoleon