http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/review.cfm?id=576012007
Napoleon in Egypt, by Paul Strathern Jonathan Cape, £20 (UKP)
"One of the oddities of the French Revolution was the manic utopianism that it inspired in men such as Napoleon. By 1798 the Revolution was being exported through a series of stunning military victories in Italy. Casting a megalomaniac eye on the world map, Napoleon Bonaparte took 38,000 soldiers and set sail for the Orient as the first step towards wresting control of India from the British.
The full madness and magnificence of this expedition has long appealed to readers, and the latest to memorialise these Pharonic ambitions is Paul Strathern. What he has produced is a comprehensive and gripping read, as great an overview of war and hubris as can be managed in 400 pages.
Of Napoleon's adventures in Egypt there is much to say. Unusually for a would-be conqueror, Napoleon took with him 167 men of science and art who would bring European civilisation first to Egypt and ultimately to India and the world. With this force, Napoleon not only carried balloon-making technology and astronomical telescopes, but the only Arabic printing press in Europe.
Aside from being written with all the verve of a great adventure story, Napoleon In Egypt is also a shocking book. "
Napoleon in Egypt, by Paul Strathern Jonathan Cape, £20 (UKP)
"One of the oddities of the French Revolution was the manic utopianism that it inspired in men such as Napoleon. By 1798 the Revolution was being exported through a series of stunning military victories in Italy. Casting a megalomaniac eye on the world map, Napoleon Bonaparte took 38,000 soldiers and set sail for the Orient as the first step towards wresting control of India from the British.
The full madness and magnificence of this expedition has long appealed to readers, and the latest to memorialise these Pharonic ambitions is Paul Strathern. What he has produced is a comprehensive and gripping read, as great an overview of war and hubris as can be managed in 400 pages.
Of Napoleon's adventures in Egypt there is much to say. Unusually for a would-be conqueror, Napoleon took with him 167 men of science and art who would bring European civilisation first to Egypt and ultimately to India and the world. With this force, Napoleon not only carried balloon-making technology and astronomical telescopes, but the only Arabic printing press in Europe.
Aside from being written with all the verve of a great adventure story, Napoleon In Egypt is also a shocking book. "
See the above page for the full story.
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