The Age of Napoleon

The eleventh and final volume of the classic, Pulitzer Prize–winning series The Story of Civilization, covering Napoleon’s reign and a history of European civilization from 1789 to 1815.

A bold, comprehensive journey through history as a study of human nature, beginning with the chaos of the French Revolution and the improbable rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, The Age of Napoleon explores how power, belief, luck, and circumstance—not ideals—shape civilizations.

Drawing on examples from every continent, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Will Durant argues that history reveals enduring patterns: religion, though repeatedly challenged by reason, proves indispensable to social cohesion; equality is an illusion incompatible with civilization, which has always depended on power, hierarchy, and the leadership of narrow-minded but decisive individuals; and progress is fragile as barbarism waits patiently at the edges, ready to reclaim what civilization forgets to defend. Even greatness offers no protection from oblivion, as time erases nearly every name it once celebrated.

Clear-eyed, provocative, and deeply humane, this work shows why history matters—not to flatter our hopes, but to teach us how rare stability is, how quickly it can vanish, and how fortunate we are to live when we do.