Oxford University historian Broers (Napoleon) delivers a granular history of Napoleon's final decade. In 1811, the French ruler welcomed his first legitimate male heir, solidifying his hopes for establishing a European dynasty. From that high point, Boers meticulously tracks Napoleon's decline as military missteps, an attempted coup, and deteriorating relationships with powerful allies, including his own father-in-law, Austrian emperor Francis I, sapped his power and influence and led to military defeat, abdication, and exile. Broers's deep knowledge of the era is evident in his fine-grained recreations of such events as the breach birth of Napoleon II (a terrifying ordeal for the boy's mother, Empress Marie-Louise), the burning of Moscow after Napoleon's troops entered the city in 1812, and the Battle of Waterloo, but he makes little accommodation to readers not well versed in these events. Key players are referred to solely by last name, with few biographical or contextual details, and the narrative is dense with obscure military leaders, troop movements, and political intrigues. Still, those with the background and wherewithal to navigate Broers's staccato prose will find a nuanced and insightful portrait of a once mighty ruler in decline. This impressive scholarly history is best suited for experts. Illus. (July)

With his ninth book about Napoleon Bonaparte, Broers (history, Oxford Univ.; The Napoleonic Empire in Italy) demonstrates the pleasures of methodical, detailed history. On December 10, 1810, Napoleon communicated to his senate: "A new order of things directs the universe." All seemed to be well in his new empire. He had a new wife and would soon have a son, while centralization and uniformity were being spread across his domains by the cadre of bureaucrats he'd groomed. Russia and France were at peace (though for how long?); Spain was a running sore, but enough troops should settle that. Napoleon was sure his Continental Blockade would bring enemy Britain (that "nation of shopkeepers," as he called them) to their knees. Then, in the summer of 1812, Napoleon entered Russia on a three-week expedition to snip off a piece of its western edge; five and a half months later, only 120,000 of the 450,000 Napoleonic troops left Russia alive. Broers analyzes this stunning defeat in Russia, with a particularly insightful comparison between Napoleon and Czar Alexander I. Broers is equally adept at narrating battles and teasing out the implications of events. VERDICT A masterful and unfailingly insightful examination of Napoleon's final years.--David Keymer

Broers continues his run of satisfying books on Napoleon. The relentless fascination with Napoleon and his empire continues to generate books, mostly biographies, and this is another fine entry by Broers, a professor of Western European history at Oxford. Controlling land that stretched from Rome to the Baltic, Napoleon had defeated continental rivals and established friendly relations with Russia, and his forces were having some success suppressing the gruesome Spanish rebellion. Fruitless efforts to cut off British trade finally made a painful impression when he placed Atlantic ports under military rule to suppress smuggling. "Napoleon always wanted war during this period of relative peace," writes Broers, "just not the one he got in 1812." His plan to invade Britain--this time with a proper navy--was derailed when Czar Alexander "opened Russian ports to neutral shipping in December 1810" and fended off bullying efforts to bring him into line. By summer 1811, Napoleon was determined to invade Russia. At this point, the text still has 500 pages to go, but few readers will complain as the author describes Napoleon's preparations from a sullen French nation exasperated by massive taxes, mourning massive casualties, and oppressed by another round of brutally efficient conscription. The titanic army that trundled into Russia in June 1812 began shrinking long before meeting the enemy, led by a ruler Napoleon had consistently underestimated. Fans of War and Peace will learn that Tolstoy and Broers share a modest admiration for Alexander and a lower opinion of the emperor, although, having read all Napoleon's correspondence, Broers' opinion is more nuanced. After a gripping account of the Russian debacle, the author recounts Napoleon's return to Paris. Returning without much of an army left, he wrung another fighting force from his exhausted nation and won several victories before he was forced to abdicate and retire to Elba, from which he returned to power, lost at Waterloo, and ended his life in humiliating exile. An outstanding addition to the groaning bookshelves on one of the world's most recognizable leaders. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.