<p>The first emperor of France and&nbsp;one of the shrewdest military leaders of all time,&nbsp;<strong>Napoleon Bonaparte</strong>&nbsp;(1769&ndash;1821) eventually came to control&nbsp;much of Europe. In&nbsp;<em>Simply Napoleon</em>, authors&nbsp;<strong>J. David Markham</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Matthew Zarzeczny&nbsp;</strong>tell Napoleon&rsquo;s story, from his birth on the island of Corsica to his eventual imprisonment and death on the island of Saint Helena.&nbsp;</p><p>They explain how the famed military commander&rsquo;s unique combination of determination, intellect, and personal charisma allowed him to rise from a provincial village to become a powerful and authoritative ruler. While taking an overall positive view of Napoleon, Markham and Zarzeczny also make it a point to draw attention to his mistakes and their consequences, providing a balanced picture of this complicated figure who was both a product of his times and a man pointing the way to the future.</p><p>Marked by first-rate scholarship, as well as a highly readable and accessible style,&nbsp;<em>Simply Napoleon&nbsp;</em>is an exceptional introduction to Napoleon and his times&mdash;a study that not only illuminates a key personality and period in modern history,&nbsp;but also helps us understand how modern Europe took shape.</p>