McLynn is a psychological biographer who published a biography of Carl Jung the same year Napoleon: A Biography came out. McLynn’s book isn’t as good as Roberts’, but it’s still an excellent treatment of a fascinating figure. So I’ve been a little immersed in the Napoleonic era as of late, and I might be suffering from Napoleon overload. While I was reading Andrew Roberts’ excellent 2014 biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon: A Life, I was also reading Frank McLynn’s 1997 book Napoleon: A Biography on my Kindle. Gives the reader an eagle's eye view of European history during the 40-year period of Napoleon's reign. Impeccably researched and clearly written for the general public. Readers always want to understand what makes great historical figures tick. This massive biography not only sets forth Napoleon's deeds and acts but explores the motivations behind them. McLynn brilliantly reveals the extent to which Napoleon was both existential hero and plaything of Fate mathematician and mystic intellectual giant and moral pygmy great man and deeply flawed human being. Tracing Napoleon's extraordinary career, McLynn examines the Promethean legend from his Corsican roots, through the years of the French Revolution and his military triumphs, to his coronation in 1804 and ultimate defeat and imprisonment.

In this compelling new biography, Frank McLynn draws on the most recent scholarship and throws a brilliant light on this most paradoxical of men - as military leader, lover, and emperor. Napoleon Bonaparte's character and achievements have always divided critics and commentators.

Napoleon a biography by frank mclynn