≫ [PDF] Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire John Bierman 9780312039004 Books

Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire John Bierman 9780312039004 Books

Download As PDF : Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire John Bierman 9780312039004 Books

Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire John Bierman 9780312039004 Books

It covers the basics of Louis Napoleons and Eugenie's life but it's based on secondary sources, nothing original. As an example, the Prussian- French war is based on Michael Howard's excellent book. At the end , one doesn't get any nearer the two protagonists.


Tags : Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire [John Bierman] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Napoleon III, the nephew of Napolean Bonaparte, was elected President of France in 1848 and three years later became Emperor. He was considered the arbiter of Europe and led his country into four major wars. His political techniques anticipated the Fascist dictators of the 1920s and 1930s,John Bierman,Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire,St Martins Pr,031203900X,1002514835,Royalty,France;History;Second Empire, 1852-1870.,France;Kings and rulers;Biography.,1808-1873,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Royalty,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Emperor of the French,,France,GENERAL,History,History - General History,III,,Kings and rulers,Napoleon,Non-Fiction,Second Empire, 1852-1870

Napoleon III and His Carnival Empire John Bierman 9780312039004 Books Reviews

Louis Napoleon, wayward exile and nephew of Napoleon I, became president of France in 1848 as a popular republican champion, assumed office as prince-president and cleverly manipulated the public into a coup that resulted in imperial assumption in 1852. Say what one might, this man had no need of Karl Rove.

Louis prosecuted four wars as a matter of state - in those days monarchs could almost unilaterally launch wars (not unlike the Bush/Cheney régime in it's 2002-03 Iraq adventure). The first (and most successful) was in the Crimea 1854-55 (yielding a popular victory at Sebastopol in 1855). The campaign in Italy against Austria (Magenta, Solferino 1859) was less glorious, but not ruinous. Louis's third war, a 1863 `regime change' favoring Maximillian as a transplanted European emperor of Mexico was as ill-conceived as American Viceroy Bremer's 2003 tenure in Iraq. Unlike Bremer (whose incompetence was rewarded), Maximillian paid with his life.

Louis's forth (and final) campaign stupidly responded to an irresistible Prussian invitation to war, culminating in his exile after Sedan in 1870.

This work is valuable for shedding a minor light onto an interesting figure, but it spends far too much time in Louis's bedroom. Little is said of the French population and economy devastated after Napoleon I, let alone the ascendant movements in technology and the arts, or conditions in the German states. The Second Reich's judgment of the largest war reparations exacted in history goes unmentioned (as well as the fact it was paid before schedule).

This is an enjoyable volume in lieu of a more serious study. It should be read in concert with Alistair Horne's series (especially `The Fall of Paris') and Edward Crankshaw's `Bismarck.'
The improbability of this ruler makes the story! I might have never known for the positive things that Napoleon III was responsible for, like the Eiffel Tower.

If you enjoy reading about the lesser known facets of history, I highly recommend this book.
The title implies that you will be in for some fun, and you are.

Just about everything in his life is dubious. His lineage is his sole qualification for his position, but was "The" Napoleon's brother really his father? How did a democratically elected official morph into an Emperor... like maybe "The" Napoleon his maybe uncle?

We can chuckle along with John Bierman as he interprets Napoleon III's early attempts to attain his destiny, his (very active) love life, his fast track marriage, his meeting with Queen Victoria and more. His mother, the daughter of "The" Josephine, teaches him if you continue to say something, it becomes true.

This book has the clearest interpretation I've seen of how the Austrian noble, Ferdinand Maximilian, assumed the crown of Mexico. Perhaps when I knew this before but dismissed it as somewhat flimsy. Now I understand that it is a case of, "well... You have to know the people" and I now have a new appreciation for Cinco de Mayo.

Amidst so many foreign affairs blunders, Napoleon built Paris. He oversaw the creation of parks, the Louvre, the wide boulevards Paris in known for and the Eiffel tower. Despite the autocratic elements of his reign there was a flourishing culture of novelists and painters who left a world wide imprint that exists today.

There are appearances of other relatives. There is the ever jealous PlonPlon and the successful investor, Charles de Morney.

The chapter "Death in Exile" has an interesting and feasible interpretation of what made him tick.

The final chapter "The Long Twilight" has some interesting things to say about Napoleon IV and his short life and the long life of the Empress Eugenie.

There are some good photos. The index is weak and the book could use a genealogy chart, but the writing is so compelling I won't deduct a star.
This is an interpretive work. While the author claims no original research it is informed by an extensive bibliography.

I highly recommend this for general readers. There is a lot to keep you glued.
This is a well written and very interesting account of the most unlikely of Emperors. Actually I knew almost nothing about this ruler until reading this book. He was a paradox. The friendly dictator who got himself voted in and made for himself a rubber stamp congress. He wanted to acquire territory, was a womanizer, and yet from all accounts a very likable person.
Very good summary of Napoleon's reign; a bit too much focus on the sexual antics and repeating of rumors.
It covers the basics of Louis Napoleons and Eugenie's life but it's based on secondary sources, nothing original. As an example, the Prussian- French war is based on Michael Howard's excellent book. At the end , one doesn't get any nearer the two protagonists.