The Shadow Emperor: A Biography of Napoleon III

by Outono Zero

Overview

A breakout biography of Louis-Napoleon III, whose controversial achievements have polarized historians.

Considered one of the pre-eminent Napoleon Bonaparte experts, Pulitzer Prize-nominated historian Alan Strauss-Schom has turned his sights on another in that dynasty, Napoleon III (Louis-Napoleon) overshadowed for too long by his more romanticized forebear.

In the first full biography of Napoleon III by an American historian, Strauss-Schom uses his years of primary source research to explore the major cultural, sociological, economical, financial, international, and militaristic long-lasting effects of France's most polarizing emperor. Louis-Napoleon’s achievements have been mixed and confusing, even to historians. He completely revolutionized the infrastructure of the state and the economy, but at the price of financial scandals of imperial proportions. In an age when “colonialism” was expanding, Louis-Napoleon’s colonial designs were both praised by the emperor’s party and the French military and resisted by the socialists.

He expanded the nation’s railways to match those of England; created major new transoceanic steamship lines and a new modern navy; introduced a whole new banking sector supported by seemingly unlimited venture capital, while also empowering powerful new state and private banks; and completely rebuilt the heart of Paris, street by street.

Napoleon III wanted to surpass the legacy of his famous uncle, Napoleon I. In The Shadow Emperor, Alan Strauss-Schom sets the record straight on Napoleon III's legacy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250057785
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	05/29/2018
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alan Strauss-Schom is a critically acclaimed author and historian. He has received Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations for One Hundred Days: Napoleon’s Road to Waterloo, Trafalgar, Countdown to Battle, 1803-1805, and Napoleon Bonaparte which took second place in the Los Angeles Times Best Biography of the Year category, 1997. It was also one of Library Journal's top five biographies of that year and nominated for a Critics Circle Award.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for EMILE ZOLA

“This is an essential book . . . brilliantly readable from cover to cover.”—MARTIN SEYMOUR-SMITH

Praise forTRAFALGAR, COUNTDOWN TO BATTLE, 1803-1805

“[A] riveting narrative . . . Lively, dramatic.”—Kirkus Reviews

A thoroughly researched and splendidly written book.”—BYRON FARWELL

“A naval history in the grand manner, Alan Schom’s Trafalgar is fully worthy of Samuel Eliot Morison in his prime. [His] depiction of character are riveting. This is an epic for our season.”—KENNETH J. HAGAN, Director, U.S. Naval Academy Museum

Praise for ONE HUNDRED DAYS, NAPOLEON’S ROAD TO WATERLOO

“Engrossing. . . . A master annalist’s vivid reconstruction of a turning point in world history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Thoroughly researched and well-written.”—The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“A first-class reconstruction of Napoleon’s final campaign.”—Publishers Weekly

“A superb and epic account of Napoleon’s spectacular attempt to regain glory and power. . . . Napoleon was one of the most amazing figures of history and Alan Schom has brilliantly re-created his final dénouement.”—
CARLO D’ESTE, author of Patton, and Eisenhower.

Praise for NAPOLEON BONAPARTE

“A rip-roaring yarn. Schom has a lively style, and a neat turn of phrase .”— The New York Times Book Review

“Meticulously researched . . . Schom presents a rounded portrait not only of Napoleon, but also of the principal figures of his extraordinary life . . . and brilliantly presents Napoleon’s life while appropriately deflating his legend.”—Washington Post Book World

“Superb. Mr. Schom has achieved every historian’s dream; using exemplary scholarship to write a page-turning bestseller.” —LEN DEIGHTON

“A darkly nuanced biography. . . . In Many ways, Schom’s strengths as a historian match those of his protagonist. . . . Schom reveals a tactical mastery of the events of Napoleon’s Life, calling to mind the emperor’s grasp of terrain. His book is bold in scope, and . . . his salvos are devastating.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

“A badly needed comprehensive, one-volume life. . . . [Napoleon] does a magnificent job of covering the full sweep of Napoleon’s career.”—Chicago Tribune

“Powerful.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

From the Publisher