Emil Ludwig’s biography of Napoleon is a classic of Napoleonic literature, regarded for its distinctive present-tense narration. The work is divided into five books: The Island (birth to marriage); The Torrent (Army of Italy to First Counsel); The River (Marengo to the birth of Napoleon II); The Sea (Russia to Waterloo); and The Rock (St. Helena). Each book begins with a quote from Goethe. Ludwig does not include a bibliography; the concluding four pages, the Envoy, state, “In this book, all the data are recorded facts, except the soliloquies.” In the acknowledgments he thanks Professor Pariset and Kurt Wildhagen for advice on the book and Edouard Driault and F. M. Kircheisen for help with supplying material for the illustrations.