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Title: Too much on military campaigns, too little on Napoleon.
Review: Having little familiarity with the life of Napoleon, I eagerly began reading Schom's biography. Unfortunately, even after 800 pages, I do not find feel I gained much of an understanding of this complex figure. To begin, Schom largely glosses over Napoleon's formative years, giving very few details about his years in Corsica or as a student. Once Napoleon becomes an important military figure, Schom then focuses too-exclusively on military campaigns and battles (with generally useless maps) while not delving sufficiently into the social and political environment in France. The author should not assume, as he does, that readers will be familiar with many of the details of the French Revolution, and he should include some more background on that turbulent period that saw Napoleon rise to power.Thus, while providing some education on the continual campaigns of Napoleon, the author does little to provide a well-rounded understanding of this figure.
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