Books like The campaigns of Napoleon by David Chandler

Napoleon's campaigns within Europe have been exhaustively covered, but in this pioneering and highly original survey, Paul Fregosi focuses on Napoleon's forays outside Continental Europe. Reminding us that Napoleon wanted to be "not just the Emperor of France and the conqueror of Europe, but Emperor of the Orient and the Conqueror of India," Fregosi explores Napoleon's global ambition -- an ambition so vast that hardly a corner of the world remained untouched. In this engrossing work, Fregosi examines Napoleon's overall methods and aims, and also recounts Napoleon's campaigns in America (Louisiana), the West Indies, the Middle East, Africa, Ireland, Asia and South America. Few people realize that Napoleon conquered the islands of Haiti, Guadalupe, St. Kitt's and Martinique in the Caribbean and Guyana in South America. In Africa, he captured Capetown and occupied Senegal. Napoleon's ships took Mauritius and the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, and in the Southwest Pacific, the tricolor flag of France flew over Java. And in the Mediterranean, Napoleon occupied Malta, Corfu and Cypress. Fregosi fills his pages with fascinating detail, vivid character sketches and exciting battle scenes. Dreams of Empire fills in the gaps left in the more conventional history of Napoleon's wars and provides a fresh and highly readable interpretation of his actions and their consequences. - Jacket flap.

Examining the Napoleonic Wars, Charles J. Esdaile argues that Napoleon’s relentless pursuit of military glory drove Europe into conflict, while the continent’s leaders’ willingness to risk ruin amplified the violence that transformed 1800‑1815 Europe.

In the capstone work of his career, distinguished military historian Jay Luvaas brings together in one volume the military genius of Napoleon. Unlike Sun Tzu or Carl von Clausewitz, Napoleon never wrote a unified essay on his military philosophy. Yet, as one of the world's great strategists and tacticians, he sprinkled wisdom throughout his many and varied writings. Jay Luvaas spent over three decades poring through the thirty-two volumes of Napoleon's correspondence, carefully translating and editing all of his writings on the art of war, and arranging them into seamless essays. The resulting book captures the brilliant commander's thoughts on everything from the preparation of his forces to the organization, planning, and execution of his battles -- all buttressing Napoleon's view that "in war there is but one favorable moment; the great art is to seize it." Napoleon on the Art of War will be essential reading for military buffs, students of history, and any business leader looking for timeless insights on strategy. * * * Almost every great captain (Sun Tzu, de Saxe, de Villars, Frederick II, Clausewitz, Jomini, among others) have written one of three things: 1) A memoir, recounting their perceptions of battles and campaigns, 2) Guides, or textbooks concerning their beliefs on the principles of tactic, logistic, and strategy, or 3) A history, a detailed analysis of specific battles, campaigns, and marches, with descriptions of the different officers and generals they had to work with Napoleon, despite being (in my opinion) the greatest military and civil ruler of all time, never wrote any of these things (unless you refer to excerpts from his diaries, which was posthumously printed and never intended to be read, or his proclamations, which were mostly inflated propaganda). However, in many of his diary entries, travel journals, and personal letters to his brothers that he placed on the throne of European countries, or his trusted 26 Marechals de France, he left gold jackpots of wisdom which are of use today. Thus the excellent historian Jay Luvaas (who also wrote "Frederick the Great on the Art of War") spent over 30 years poring through Napoleon's correspondances, and cut and pasted them together to form what would seem like a continuous and fluent book, 100% written in Napoleon's own words. Genius! A must have, and a must read for all Napoleonic, or just military fans everywhere.