"More than any subject I have come across in over a quarter of a century of writing history, Napoleon was capable of a ruthless control over what he wanted to think about."
I read Andew Robert's brilliant bio of N.... the only other leaders I can imagine with this degree of mental discipline were Hitler and Stalin (Lincoln? Roosevelt?) Stalin's wide ranging readings and intervention in every aspect of life in the SU was terrifying- as was Hitler's... Napoleon was responsible for untold death and suffering for 20 years in Europe...is this trait especially characteristic of ruthless individuals?
I read Andew Robert's brilliant bio of N.... the only other leaders I can imagine with this degree of mental discipline were Hitler and Stalin (Lincoln? Roosevelt?) Stalin's wide ranging readings and intervention in every aspect of life in the SU was terrifying- as was Hitler's... Napoleon was responsible for untold death and suffering for 20 years in Europe...is this trait especially characteristic of ruthless individuals?