"I have read the manuscript page by page, line by line, word by word, and I am very favorably impressed by it. The book is loyal to the purpose announced in the title and raises doubts about out psychological interpretations of Napoleon. The basic theories that are used are defensible and the bibliography is excellent. All Napoleonic scholars are within Avner Falk's debt."—Harold T. Parker

"The basic theme of Avner Falk's work: his ambivalent relationship with his mother, identified with his "Motherland," his resulting difficulties in achieving individuation, the "narcissistic injuries" he suffered and his reactions of violence and aggression is most convincing. It is a most stimulating and original work."—Dorothy Carrington

Title

Napoleon Against Himself: A Psychobiography

About the book

Psychoanalytic biography, or psychobiography, is the quintessential form of biography precisely because it attempts to map out the emotional life of the individual. No full-scale psychobiography of Napoleon has been published, thus the exciting new theories of psychoanalysis, which have changed radically since Freud, have never been applied to arguably the most compelling, fascinating, and complex leader in world history. Avner Falk's biography will not only consider Napoleon's intellect but also what use he made of it, how it affected his emotional life and whether intellectualization was one of his unconscious defensive processes. He examines the events preceding Napoleon's birth, his family background, his infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood and especially his numerous irrational, self-defeating and self-destructive actions, weaving in the psychological interpretations that have been proposed for Napoleon's actions with his own explanations.

About the author

Avner Falk is an internationally known scholar in the fields of psychohistory, psychobiography, and political psychology. His previous books include Herzl, King of the Jews and A Psychoanalytic History of the Jews.

ISBN:            978-0-9728875-6-4

Format:        hardcover

Price:           $29.95

Pages:          543

Trim size:     6x9