Napoleon and His Collaborators: The Making of a Dictatorship

By Isser Woloch

Book Overview

The Eighteenth Brumaire, November 9, 1799: with France in political and economic turmoil, a group of disaffected politicians enlisted the talented general Napoleon Bonaparte to lead a coup d'etat and establish "confidence from below, authority from above." This is the story of how Napoleon managed his ascent from general of the Republic and first consul to dictator and conqueror of Europe. Napoleon did not vault into the imperial throne but moved toward dictatorship gradually; each assertion of new power came gilded with a veneer of legality and a rhetoric of commitment to the ideals of 1789. In this fashion Napoleon not only gained the upper hand over his partners of Brumaire but also retained their loyalty and services going forward. Far from shunting aside those collaborators, he put them to use in ways that satisfied their most emphatic needs: political security, material self-interest, social status, and the opportunity for high-level public service.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393050092
• ISBN13: 9780393050097
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A defining book on Napoleon's Rise to power

This is an excellent book about how Napoleon and those around him rose to power. It is very in depth and took awhile to read but it was well worth it. I highly recommend it to those who want to understand the Brumaire coup. Woolworth does an excellent job of taking the complex process and weaving together a very rich text that has interesting conclusions about the coup. If you are looking for a book that combines internal French politics with the society at the time this will give you a good sense of France. Highly recommended for those studying Napoleon and truly essential for any Napoleonic library.

Good political study

I think the French revolution was the first time a mature society was shaken to it's foundations since the fall of the Roman republic. This book illustrates what happens when a cultural revolution occurs and in many ways explains the acts of the fascists and communists.

A Splendid Volume!

I found this to be an entertaining and well researched volume. Isser Woloch adds to his reputation as a Napoleonic scholar and master of his sources. In this volume, he makes a thorough examination of the transformation of an authoritarian but nevertheless limited consulship into the empire of Napoleon; "the dictatorship that dare not speak its name". This volume also examines the lives of Napoleon's civil henchmen and the delicate question of how far loyalty to one's leader is loyalty to the state and to the nation.This is not a military history, but I recommend it to anyone whose interest in Napoleon extends past his role as war leader. Yours, James D. Gray

Politics, Power, and A Presumption of Guilt...

This uneven volume is interesting, full of information, and it covers a subject that is little covered elsewhere. The author was recently one of the historians featured in the PBS presentation of Napoleon, and I thought he did an excellent job there, which is why I purchased this book. I don't agree with everything he says in this valuable history, but it should be read and argued by all students of the period. The author's points are well-taken, and this volume serves as an adjunct to the many done on Napoleon's marshals and the generals that 'collaborated' on the military side of the Consulate and Empire.There are weaknesses, such as the author being taken in, as it were, just as others have been taken in, by Talleyrand's motives in the period 1813-1814. Talleyrand committed treason, and persuaded Marmont to betray his corps to the allies in 1814. This point should have been brought home. Also, the proscription lists and the 'White Terror' should also have been given more coverage. Most disturbing, though is the author's acceptance, on the face uncritical, of such dubious and inaccurate sources as Bourrienne's alleged memoirs. This can only hurt, not help, a volume of this type.However, this book is an achievement and a badly needed addition to Napoleonic literature, as it is a subject not covered adequately in English. It is both useful and insightful, and perhaps it will spur other historians to further research to broaden our knowledge of this most interesting and intriguing period.