Napoleon Against Himself: a Psychobiography

 
From the publishers:
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 not only considers 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. The author 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.
 
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.