Bell has succeed in his goal to create a manageable biography of one of the most fascinating figures in world history. Do not be misled by the assumption that an abbreviated telling of Napoleon’s life story would come at the cost of accuracy or consequential information. I have waded through several extremely tedious tomes of the Corsican’s life and, without hesitation, say Bell’s project is not only sufficiently comprehensive but is superior in its comprehend-ability. Absent the myriad minute details which generally encumber the telling of this story, Bells’ book is a remarkably understandable tale. Any great story can become cumbersome when it is littered with information that hampers the flow of the telling.
All information is useful to a devoted student of the subject but information that does not help move the story along simply impedes the continuity for an audience that wants to know “what happened next?”
Napoleon’s time on Elba and St. Helena does not require the regurgitation of a hour-by-hour diary for us to know he was exiled and spent his time wishing he was not.
Bravo to Bell for his cautious brevity and laudable bravery. He accurately tells the story and gets out of the way. In doing so he certainly subjected himself to harsh criticism from rabid historians who revel in volume while ignoring the storytelling itself.
It was a stroke of brilliance to retain the talents of Paul Heitsch – an award-winning storyteller whose timing, timbre and clarity make him perfect for this project. I was immersed in the incredible life of Napoleon from start to finish. Never once did the nagging critic in my head whisper, “get on with it.” Instead time and again I experienced the anxious, “what happened next?”