‘Whether you are studying leadership, or doing leadership, this is a rollicking good read, and a fabulously rich book.’ - Ken Parry, Professor of Leadership Studies and co-Director of the Deakin Leadership Centre, Australia He came to France an immigrant and left an exile – but, in a career spanning just 35 years, he became general, consul and emperor. How did Napoleon’s name come to be synonymous with brilliance, legend and glory despite displaying opportunistic and manipulative tendencies, and repeatedly deserting those that followed him? 200 years after his defeat, what lessons can we learn from his successes and his failures? As the world marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, this fascinating study on leadership and power tackles the questions that continue to intrigue and mystify. As now, power was gained and held by political manipulation, patronage, fear, putsch, charisma, popular vote and the new idea of meritocracy. Through the inclusion of Reflections and Questions, Jones and Gosling also highlight some important lessons for current and future managers and leaders.

What is it about Napoleon Bonaparte that has led recognized leaders such as General George S. Patton to study his principles-and countless books on management and leadership to quote his maxims? What lessons can today's project managers and leaders learn from Napoleon's successes and failures? "Napoleon on Project Management" explores the key principles behind Napoleon's successes, the triggers that led to his downfall, and the lessons to be learned from his ultimate demise-and applies these lessons to modern-day project management and leadership at all levels.

A look at the leadership style of the brilliant military strategist who also laid the administrative and judicial foundations for much of Western Europe. In this fascinating book, historian and bestselling business author Alan Axelrod takes an in-depth look at this much-studied historical figure in a new way, exploring six areas that constitute the core of what made Napoleon Bonaparte a legendary military and political leader: Audacity, Vision, Empathy, Strategy, Logistics, and Tactics. Within these areas, Axelrod formulates approximately sixty lessons framed in military analogies, valuable for anyone who aspires to leadership—whether in the boardroom or the Oval Office.

Two political and military giants compared

‘Whether you are studying leadership, or doing leadership, this is a rollicking good read, and a fabulously rich book.’ - Ken Parry, Professor of Leadership Studies and co-Director of the Deakin Leadership Centre, Australia He came to France an immigrant and left an exile – but, in a career spanning just 35 years, he became general, consul and emperor. How did Napoleon’s name come to be synonymous with brilliance, legend and glory despite displaying opportunistic and manipulative tendencies, and repeatedly deserting those that followed him? 200 years after his defeat, what lessons can we learn from his successes and his failures? As the world marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, this fascinating study on leadership and power tackles the questions that continue to intrigue and mystify. As now, power was gained and held by political manipulation, patronage, fear, putsch, charisma, popular vote and the new idea of meritocracy. Through the inclusion of Reflections and Questions, Jones and Gosling also highlight some important lessons for current and future managers and leaders.

A comparison of nine leaders who led their nations through the greatest wars the world has ever seen and whose unique strengths—and weaknesses—shaped the course of human history, from the bestselling, award-winning author of Churchill, Napoleon, and The Last King of America “Has the enjoyable feel of a lively dinner table conversation with an opinionated guest.” —The New York Times Book Review Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War, Andrew Roberts presents a bracingly honest and deeply insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Margaret Thatcher. Each of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war in which their nation was embroiled. Is war leadership unique, or did these leaders have something in common, traits and techniques that transcend time and place and can be applied to the essential nature of conflict? Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Leadership in War presents readers with fresh, complex portraits of leaders who approached war with different tactics and weapons, but with the common goal of success in the face of battle. Both inspiring and cautionary, these portraits offer important lessons on leadership in times of struggle, unease, and discord. With his trademark verve and incisive observation, Roberts reveals the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, as well as the traits that lead to victory.

One of France’s most famous historians compares two exemplars of political and military leadership to make the unfashionable case that individuals, for better and worse, matter in history. Historians have taught us that the past is not just a tale of heroes and wars. The anonymous millions matter and are active agents of change. But in democratizing history, we have lost track of the outsized role that individual will and charisma can play in shaping the world, especially in moments of extreme tumult. Patrice Gueniffey provides a compelling reminder in this powerful dual biography of two transformative leaders, Napoleon Bonaparte and Charles de Gaulle. Both became national figures at times of crisis and war. They were hailed as saviors and were eager to embrace the label. They were also animated by quests for personal and national greatness, by the desire to raise France above itself and lead it on a mission to enlighten the world. Both united an embattled nation, returned it to dignity, and left a permanent political legacy—in Napoleon’s case, a form of administration and a body of civil law; in de Gaulle’s case, new political institutions. Gueniffey compares Napoleon’s and de Gaulle’s journeys to power; their methods; their ideas and writings, notably about war; and their postmortem reputations. He also contrasts their weaknesses: Napoleon’s limitless ambitions and appetite for war and de Gaulle’s capacity for cruelty, manifested most clearly in Algeria. They were men of genuine talent and achievement, with flaws almost as pronounced as their strengths. As many nations, not least France, struggle to find their soul in a rapidly changing world, Gueniffey shows us what a difference an extraordinary leader can make.

NAPOLEON—SOLDIER, EMPEROR, LOVER... This magnificent reconstruction of Napoleon’s life and legend is written by a distinguished Oxford scholar. It is based on newly discovered documents—including the personal letters of Marie-Louise and the decoded diaries of General Bertrand, who accompanied Napoleon to his final exile on St. Helena. It has been hailed as the most important single-volume work in Napoleonic literature. “Mr. Markham’s book is notable...a well-balanced study of a man vastly bigger than his 5 feet 6 inches, who has been for generations one of the most fascinating of subjects for biography.”—Mark S. Watson, Baltimore Evening Sun “A surprisingly sympathetic biography of one of the most fascinating men who ever strutted across the stage of history.”—Dolph Honicker, Nashville Tennesseean “A remarkable achievement. The story moves as fast as one of Bonaparte’s campaigns and is told with the clarity of his dispatches.”—The Economist “A definitive contribution to Napoleonic literature.”—Jose Sanchez, St. Louis Globe Democrat “The university lecturer in History at Oxford has approached the impossible; he has written a new life of one of the most written-about figures in modern history with freshness, vivacity, fine scholarship and penetration.”—James H. Powers, Boston Globe “Markham has achieved a startlingly vivid and coherent picture of Napoleon’s career, of the social and intellectual influences that molded it, and of the men and forces that opposed it. The military events, the political movements, the personal intrigues—all appear, each in its proper place and perspective.”—E. Nelson Hayes, Los Angeles Times “Markham’s erudition is extensive; he makes full use of recent discoveries of manuscript material, and he writes with admirable judgment about a character who has been misjudged consistently by historians.”—J. H. Plumb, The Saturday Review

Dressed in outrageously romantic uniforms, led by a flamboyant clique of aristocrats and extroopers, Napoleons cavalry had a picturesque quality that belied its ruthless methods and tremendous service record. Drawing heavily on material largely unknown to English speaking readers, the campaigns in Austria, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal are all brought alive and put into their historical context.