Jean-Marie Rouart has set a challenging goal, seemingly impossible: simmiscer in Napoleon's thoughts and give us some of the days that marked its existence. And it must be recognized that it is doing wonderfully. Napoleon has never seemed so human, so close, so understandable. Far from the simple man of great stature, one who made history, the romantic, the literature enthusiast, the man facing contradictions of interest. People may criticize the book to be a bit elliptical, and thus require some additional research for beginners (which I am), you can also blame biases sometimes too francs (the author seems very pan-Napoleonic and justifies all his actions almost), but nothing takes away the quality we know to live and feel the rhythm of the Napoleonic era. And it is also not Napoleon's greatness that takes us the most, but rather his downfall. The last part of the book is, as such, extremely exciting and even poignant. The author's style is very fair, very beautiful, we let completely worn. Maybe some historical reminders would have greater fluidity in reading, in particular concerning the coup (again, perhaps this is related to my neophyte side), but still, the book devours much interest as passion, and happens to be an excellent complement to War and Peace that offers the view of the enemy, while already supporting the thesis that great men are finally only men like others, carried by the wind of history.
