Napoleon genuinely enjoyed being with his soldiers. He was modern in that he used praise to motivate. "Severe to officers, kindly to men" was his mantra. Tremendous memory--story of asking a minor minister how his two children were doing . . . he had met the minister once, ten years earlier. . . Admiration for Andrea Doria even though his star had fallen . . . Josephine "psychotic extravagence." Bona fide intellectual . . . the attack on Egypt included scientists, geologists, poets. It resulted in a 20 volume scholarly work on all things Egypt "Denon's Description l'Egypte (last remaining handwritten copy burned in the the Arab Spring uprising in December of 2011, along with 192,000 other books in a Cairo library) . . . In Malta, Napoleon immediately reformed the government, freed political prisoners, installed street lights, postal service, hospitals . . . generally well received by intellectuals as a liberator, hated by religious conservatives and also by the masses who saw him as an atheist . . . reformed Egypt governance also, making it far more representative than it had been . . . respectful of Islam . . . When Cairo imams said they couldn't afford to celebrate Muhammed's birthday, Napoleon immediately had the French pay for the celebration . . . used terror to subdue the populace when he felt it was necessary--beheadings, bodies in the Nile, etc. Toys with the idea of converting to Islam to make the conquering of Egypt and Syria easier . . . contemplates marching to India! . . .On torture: Torture produces nothing worthwhile. The poor wretches say anything that comes into their mind that the interrogator wishes to hear." Pauline Foures, interesting mistress with an amazing life. page 182 . . . Complete indifference to non-European life. Napoleon kills 3000-5000 Turks, Kurds, etc. Had they been European, he would have taken them captive. . . Finds Rosetta Stone . . . Returns to dysfunctional Paris, the Directory failing, reading to lead a coup.
Follows Sadie and Sam (Mazer) from childhood to mid-thirties when both are feeling old and a bit out of it in the gaming world. Characters are well-rounded, develop throughout the novel in interesting way. Plot is involved but sensible. Not a single, "Oh, come on!" moment. The book could have been faster paced. Odd, since the main topic is video games which are not for their speed of engagement and Gabrielle Zevin clearly knows her video games. Recommended by Michael Connelly in an interview. He also has Bosch pick up the book in his novel, Resurrection Walk, as Bosch tails a possible witness to a crime as she moves through a bookstore. Sadie and Sam do not get together at the end, which is good. Marx killed by homophobic nutcase who really wants to kill Sam, but Sam isn't there. Marx is father of Sadie's child.
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