McLynn's life of Napoleon traces his extraordinary career, as well as the promethean legend he bequeathed, from his Corsican roots and the influential Bonaparte dynasty, through the years of the French Revolution and his military triumphs to his coronation in 1804 and his ultimate defeat and imprisonment. Particular emphasis is given to Napoleon's military genius and the astonishing feats of his Grande Armee, which radically altered the political shape of Europe, as well as to his civil achievements, as ruler of France. All means justified the end of Napoleonic ambition, and McLynn is adept at interpreting the psycholgy that motivated Napoleon's genius, his errors and his stormy relationships with women.