Welcome back! On episode #47, David and I have our first special guest!
Jerry Gallaher is Past President of the Napoleonic Alliqance and author of the 1976 classic account of one of Napoleon’s greatest Marshals, Louis Davout – “Iron Marshal – A Biography of Louis N. Davout.” He’s also a true gentleman, scholar and totally charming. Meeting him was one of the highlights of the INS congress in Corsica last July.
So I’m sure it will be of no surprise to you to learn that our subject tonight is The Iron Marshal himself, Louis-Nicolas d’Avout (May 10, 1770 – June 1, 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duc d’Auerstaedt, 1st Prince d’Eckmühl, and Marshal of France.
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Never thought of you as a suit, but there you go
Hah, I wore a suit for many years mate. Glad I don’t have to wear one often in this Brisbane weather though! Hey I’m glad you left a comment so I could grab the URL to your terrific podcast again. I highly recommend it to all of the Napoleon listeners – http://yourstorypodcast.com/
We musn’t foget, today is the 204th anniversary of Napoleon’s coronation and the 203rd anniversary of Austerlitz! Vive l’Empereur!
Ack! I knew I forgot something today. Thanks Nicholas! I immediately played my “Coronation Music for Napoleon I” in celebration of the event. I was fortunate to be in Paris a week ago and I played the Coronation March on my mp3 player as I walked down the main aisle of Notre Dame. I also sat there and listened to most of the music while imagining what it must have been like a little over 200 years ago. There is the organ, there are the galleries for the choirs…It was a magical feeling.
Vive l’Empereur!
Oh yeah, great podcast David, Jerry and Cameron!
Vive l’Empereur…having a toast to the Emperor tonight while decorating the Christmas tree and listening to the latest Napoleon podcast!
hey guys great show. I need help deciding what gifts I sould give/ask for this christmas book wise. I was wondering if you could recomend anybooks on Napoleon, Alexander, Hanibal, or anything historical that you guys found interesting. I could just look at the reviews on barns and noble.com but i fugured i give you guys a shot first. If you could give some suggestions that wouldbe great. Thanks.
Hi, Austin,
OK, I’ll bite. How about ‘Napoleon for Dummies’ for starters! Beyond that, it depends on for whom you are buying and what level of history they would like to read. Lots of books on Napoleon et al, but many different reading levels. Let me know and I’ll make some more suggestions. But I really do recommend Dummies, despite the title.
David
Hi David,
You’re right about the importance of reading levels, and I would never want to detract from the merits of “Napoleon for Dummies”.
But that said, I’d like to advocate Adam Zamoyki’s “1812”. It is a great read. Besides, it is one of the few books about the Napoleonic era that give the reader a notion of what it was like to actually participate in these historical events — i.e. horrendous, for the soldiers on both sides.
thanks for the suggestion david and Mutandis but i’ve already read Napoleon for dummies and just finshed Moscow 1812 yesterday, which, i agree that they are both supurb books. But anyway im looking for a good book on Napoleons early career. I’ve read way too many books about the closing years of the Napolionic era (1809-1815) and am looking for a good book about Austrilitz or the Italian campaigns or eygpt etc… also, do you have any suggestions of some books of some other key figure in history, ex. hannibal, caesar, augustus, alexander, fedrick the great, charlemange, etc. im pretty open to anything here…
if you say its good, ill read it.
oh yea and as for reading levels im 16 years old so i dont know where that leaves me. I do read alot though so i think im pretty well adapt to read at any level. so, once again, anything you got.
Austin, I recommend Peter Green’s biography on Alexander. It’s brilliant. And for Napoleon’s early career, have you tried the novels by Max Gallo?
I second Green’s bio. Great read….
I would also suggest, Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar’s Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome or An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy for a study on a more recent conflict.
Fantastic episode in my top 5 favorite!
Where can I get that biography of Davout?