Napoleon In Egypt: The Greatest Glory - Softcover

Strathern, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0224076817 ISBN 13: 9780224076814

Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd, 2007

Synopsis

Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 was the first attack on a Middle Eastern country by a Western power in modern times. With 400 ships and 55,000 men, it was the largest, long-distance seaborne force the world has ever seen. But Napoleon's assault was intended to be much more than a colonial adventure for he took with him more than a hundred scientists, mathematicians, artists and writers - a 'Legion of Culture' for the purpose of bringing Western civilization to 'backward' Egypt. Ironically, what these intellectuals discovered in Egypt would transform our knowledge of Western civilization and form the basis of Egyptology. Travelling to the far reaches of the Upper Nile, Napoleon's artists sketched the great temples and ruins of the Pharaohs, and his soldiers uncovered the Rosetta Stone, which would eventually lead to the deciphering of the mysterious Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. But there were also setbacks. Nelson's destruction of the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile apparently put an end to Napoleon's ambitions, though the General himself did not see it that way. His secret plan was to follow in the footsteps of Alexander the Great and invade India.Being cut off from France meant that he was free to indulge his 'oriental dream' and found his own Eastern empire, with its independent culture developed by his young French intellectuals. Napoleon was just twenty-eight when he invaded Egypt and it was an episode which contained in embryo many seminal events in his later life. Epic military victories, his declaration of himself as emperor, the introduction of the Napoleonic Code, even the retreat from Moscow and his abandonment of his army - all of these were foreshadowed in his brilliant ambitious and ultimately disastrous adventure.

About this title

Review:

`The subject matter is simply extraordinary' -- Irish Times

`As a stirring narrative of doomed military endeavour, his book could hardly be bettered.' -- Sunday Times

"Superb ... Strathern tells the appalling tale of the forced
marches across endless deserts ... with commendable gusto" -- Sunday Telegraph

"a well-written, fast-paced narrative... This book is a welcome
and readable addition to the ever-growing library of books about this
French colossus".
-- BBC History Magazine, April 2007

'...enthralling description of this bizarre imperial adventure
reads like Conrad's Heart of Darkness... it is a masterpiece.'
-- Telegraph - Rev'd Keith Lowe

'To begin with, the book leaps off the shelf-display into the
hands...This is an illuminating and most engaging book'
-- The Spectator

'ambitious and wonderfully detailed saga'
-- The Financial Times

'very entertaining and well-written book. Strathern is very careful about his sources ... so that a finely balanced picture emerges' -- Times Literary Supplement

`His account of the 6 week odyssey to Alexandria... and
description of the successive stages of the expedition are well-judged.'
-- The Herald

`This is popular narrative history at its best' -- Independent on Sunday - Rev'd Mark Bostridge

From the Publisher:

A new book by the author of the immensely successful The Medici. The extraordinary story of Napoleon's 18-month Egyptian adventure and his dream of world power.

About this edition

• Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0224076817
• ISBN 13: 9780224076814
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496