This rare 1826 work, published within living memory of Napoleon's reign, offers an astonishing firsthand look at the emperor as a leader and as a man. Compiled from numerous sources, include the writings of French generals and other military leaders, this is the joint work of French dramatist ANTOINE-VINCENT ARNAULT (1766-1834), French editor CHARLES LOUIS FLEURY PANCKOUCKE (1780-1844), and British radical WILLIAM HAMILTON REID (1760-1826), and as such is one of the few crosscultural explorations of the man in his own day.

Reid, the guiding hand of this intriguing volume, was wildly pro-Napoleon, and this work is considered overly admiring by some. But that quality alone recommends it as one of the most fascinating-if least objective-discussions of Napoleon available to readers today.