Napoleon's Egypt is a must read for any student of the napoleonic wars or someone who just wants to better understand the complexities of maintaining a occupying army over an extended period of time in the middle east.The only thing that I did not like about this book was the relativly simple sentences which however concise and clear, left something to be desired. All and all, a good read that was very well researched.

Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East by Juan Cole should surely be considered "must reading" for anyone interested in today's foreign policy issues as they relate to this part of the world. It might appear a bit extreme to say it, but after reading this relatively short but deeply researched volume, one is likely to come to the conclusion that it is difficult to understand today's Middle East wihtout it. It is a piece of history often ignored and left unexplored, but is arguably one of the critical "keys" to understanding today's events in the region.

Cole's book details Napoleon's invasion of the nation of Egypt in 1798, just a few years after the French Revolution transformed French society, and specifically covers the unfolding of the event from 1798 to 1801. This is, of course, before Napoleon coronated himself Emperor in 1804, and therefore, as one reads the text, it must be remembered that this is Napoleonic "pre-history;" at least, "pre-history" to what is more commonly known about Napoleon's career.

The book describes in extensive detail virtually every major military and civilian event of the invasion, including battles, uprisings, police actions, civil ceremonies, attempts at integration, populace control, and political tactics. But the book covers substantially greater than these alone, bringing to life the feelings of local tribes and individuals who sought to come to grips with the invasion in any way they could. It is a dispassionate account, but the accuracy and insight offered by the narrative cannot but help to swell the emotions, and the text offers a view of the event in such a manner that we are forced to rethink what we thought we knew about this period in history.

The similarities of this historical event with today's Iraq War are frighteningly similar. So similar, in fact, that some of the reviewers of the text have, like myself, tagged the work as a "must read" for anyone wishing to understand today's Middle East political realities. When we read towards the very end of the book the reasons why Napoleon himself decided that torture was ineffective and should be banned (Napoleon said that those under torture would say anything to be relieved, and most likely would say exactly what they knew the torturer wanted to hear most, regardless of its truthfulness), we cannot help but wonder why today's leaders can't come to the same conclusion. And the story has many more eerie parallels -- unilateral invasion, occupation tactics, propaganda techniques, religious appeals - that make it appear to be the "prequel" of the Iraq War. By reading this in a somewhat removed, historical setting, we are able to more clearly see the issues raised by such military events, and can develop conclusions that are not always as easy to see when the event is in progress. This alone makes the book a worthwhile read for any modern reader.

Cole does a good job of communicating the details of the invasion, including generals, important local personalities and leaders, troop movements, bouts of sickness, civilian control techniques, and so on, without making the text overwhelming. The names and number of specific individuals, however, towards the end of the book can become difficult to follow. Nevertheless the book is excellently written, with an eye toward historical scholarship, thoroughly documented and judiciously annotated when needed. The book is based mainly on eyewitness testimonials and recorded memoirs from first-hand witnesses, as the topic has been largely avoided by historians of the past two centuries, making these source documents the key materials available on the subject. There is a short section at the end of the text for additional reading for both French and English readers.

A highly recommended text for the history reader, political scientist, or anyone wishing to make further sense of the Middle East as it is known today. Five stars.

Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East by Juan Cole should surely be considered "must" reading for anyone interested in today's potent foreign policy issues as they regard this part of the world. It might seem a bit extreme to say it, but after a reading of this relatively short but deeply researched volume, one may easily come to the conclusion that without reading the volume one is unable to understand the background of today's Middle East nor fully comprehend some of the most important events of recent history which play into today's charged climate. It is a piece of history often ignored and left unexplored, but is nevertheless a key to understanding today's setting.

Cole's book details Napoleon's invasion of the nation of Egypt in 1798, just a few years after the French Revolution transformed French society, and specially covers the entire path of the event from 1798 to 1801. This is, of course, before Napoleon coronated himself Emperor in 1804, and therefore, as one reads the text it must be remembered that this is Napoleonic "pre-history" in a sense, at least "pre-history" to what is commonly known about Napoleon's career.

The book describes in extensive detail virtually every major military and civilian event of the invasion, including battles, uprisings, police actions, civil ceremonies, attempts at integration, populace control, and more. But the book covers substantially greater than these alone, explicating the feelings of local tribes and individuals who sought to come to grips with the invasion in any way they could. It is a dispassionate account, but the accuracy and insight offered by the narrative cannot but help to build sympathy, and the text offers a view of the event in such a manner that we are forced to rethink what we thought we knew about this period in history.

The similarities of this historical event with today's Iraq War are frighteningly similar. So similar, in fact, that some of the reviewers of the text have also, like myself, tagged the work as a "must read" for anyone wishing to understand today's Middle East political world. When we read, towards the very end of the book, why Napoleon himself decided that torture was ineffective and should be banned (Napoleon said that those under torture would say anything to be relieved, and most likely would say exactly what they knew the torturer wanted to hear most), we cannot help but wonder why today's leaders can't come to the same conclusion. And much more of the story has eerie parallels -- unilateral invasion, occupation tactics, propaganda techniques, religious appeals - that make it appear to be the "prequel" of the Iraq War. By reading this in a somewhat removed, historical setting, we are able to more clearly see the issues raised by such events, and draw conclusions that are not always as easy to see when the event is in progress. This alone makes the book a worthwhile read for any modern reader.

Cole does a good job of communicating the details of the invasion, including generals, important local personalities and leaders, troop movements, bouts of sickness, civilian control techniques, and so on, without making the text overwhelming. The names and number of specific individuals, however, towards the end of the book can become difficult to follow. Nevertheless the book is excellently written, with an eye toward historical scholarship, thoroughly documented and judiciously annotated when needed. The book is based mainly on eyewitness testimonials and recorded memoirs from first-hand witnesses, as the topic has been largely avoided by historians of the past two centuries, making these source documents the key materials available on the subject. There is a short section at the end of the text for additional reading for both French and English readers.

A highly recommended text for the history reader, political scientist, or anyone wishing to make further sense of the Middle East as it is known today. Five stars.

In the years since George Bush II, became our Monarch (a.k.a., King George II), I'e watched out nation spiral down into a dark, murky, despicable place on the Planet. Places I'd never felt it would go. As a combat infantry veteran, disabled, PTSD, malaria, and gunshot wounds in Vietnam, I read this book as both a historian; a neophyte in terms of Middle Eastern culture; and, as a combat veteran who fought the insurgents we encountered in South Vietnam.
Why Dr. Cole spent so much time detailing battle after battle, and failed to provide maps which would have allowed us to understand the ground better, I don't know. In this regard, he failed as a military historian. Maps are critical to combat and whether one deals with tactical or strategic matters, maps are essential to get a grip, in this case, with where and how Napoleon moved his forces around Egypt. Military matters matter if you're going to write as essentially as Cole does, and the dearth of maps is a clear error.
The reflections Dr. Cole unveils for us, so far as the lower levels of Napoleon's forces, as well as his generals and scientists, are very interesting. Reflections on culture, language, religion, secularism, sects and cults within Egyptian society, as they may or may not relate to how well Napoleon was able to conquer that nation, bear relevance for us, today, in Iraq.
I would have to say that Napoleon made much, much greater effort to understand and learn as much as possible about Egyptian society, as well as the institution of Islam, and it's importance in the lives of Egyptians, than Bush ever has, ever will. The manner in which leaders like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Armitage, Cambone, Feith, and many, many more ... have failed to learn much of anything about Iraq, is stunning. We know, now, that the Rumsfeld Machine purposely ignored the State Department's excellent study on what was needed when we invaded Iraq: all for naught.
Cole's book marks the mistakes made by Napoleon, and also, without a cannon barrage for emphasis, the misakes this Administration has and continues to make in it's occupation of Iraq. Cole considers we have done our own homework on the flaws of this Administration's disaster in Iraq. One of the central threads of connection many of us who have been against this man, Bush, and this war, is that we have not ever relied on being spoon fed by national media on the case for invading Iraq. We have dug our way through numerous websites and blogs, and that's how I came to be a steady reader of Dr. Cole's "Informed Comment" blog. Read it, and you'll understand there is an enormous "other side" to this debacle. And, if that means he "favors" Middle Eastern views, so be it.
It's a shame the book wasn't out when Bush took his summer vacation. He might have learned something that might have saved him from becoming the worst President in our history by invading the Middle East. I am glad Dr. Cole's written this book and feel it's worth reading.

Being a fan of Juan Cole's columns on Middle East politics and of Napoleonic history I looked forward to this book. I must say I was quite disappointed. I found it dense, boring, difficult to read, full of uninteresting details and with a distorted image of Napoleon. Invading the Middle East was not simply an imperialist exercise. It was part of a strategy to cut off England from its growing Indian Empire. Cole is at its best when he covers what he knows best: the history of the Middle East. But in my modest view he has failed to tell a compelling account of Napoleon's ill-fated adventure in Egypt. For those interested in the subject I recommend Christopher Herold's "Bonaparte in Egypt," which was written almost fifty years ago.

Juan Cole is a true American treasure. Mr. Cole's outstanding analyses of American bungling during the Bush administration's farcical "War on Terror" should be required reading for the citizenry. This latest tome by Mr. Cole highlights the earlier (late 18th century) bungling by another megalomaniac--albeit a brilliant military tactician, Napoleon Bonaparte--when he tried to force Egypt to submit to his arrogant will. As in 21st century Iraq, the bravado of insurgency destroyed the imperial dream of France, and should have taught us a lesson for all time. But, alas, as Henry Ford once stated: "history is bunk". Unfortunately, Mr. Ford's words continue to haunt this nation whose present leader is determined to render history as obsolete and worthy of only a naif's attention, while he jousts with Gog and Magog (see Ezekiel in the O.T.). Thank you professor. Hopefully, more than a handful of Americans will study your valuable insight into Mideast folly, today and yesterday.

Both a military and a cultural history, and for good reason. After Napoleon's infantry squares and artillery techniques prove absolutely lethal to fast and courageous Ottoman cavalry, the war becomes an occupation, and the occupation will not be decided by military might alone. It is a joy to watch the gifted and ruthless Napoleon gamely struggling to master occupation politics in a cultural setting of which he has only the dimmest grasp, and to watch his opponents outwit him using time-tested strategies of resistance while making up a few of their own.

Unforgettable moments range from the ridiculous to the macabre. Napoleon lets word get out that he might convert to Islam and bring his army with him, in an attempt to curry favor among Muslim clerics, but his army quickly nixes the idea, as the French were unwilling to endure circumcision and give up wine. French officers discover the pleasures and perils of harems. And in a remote desert fortification, one third of Napoleon's soldiers contract a local disease that causes their eyelids to flip inside out and they go blind. An attack comes, and the blind soldiers are pushed to the front by their comrades and told not to fire until the enemy closes to 75 yards.

Juan Cole is a mideast expert and knows Arabic, so he well understands the Egyptian context and can show how locals perceived the French as well as the reverse. He enjoys the occasional victories of the Egyptian underdogs while at the same time retaining empathy for the French as they try to adapt to what becomes a terrible predicament.

I learned about this book during my customary morning reading of Professor Cole's authoritative blog, Informed Comment. Reading a few excerpts left no doubt in my mind that I should read the entire opus. Good decision. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this erudite well written, detailed and splendidly researched book. The parallels of Bonaparte's ill fated invasion of Egypt and our current disaster in Iraq are remarkable. I rank my books according to how often I highlight quotable passages. My copy of Napoleon's Egypt, pregnant with yellow hi-liter coated passages, attests to my approval of this tome and to my enthusiastic recommendation to anyone interested in learning a great lesson about an earlier tragic Middle East misadventure.

Napoleon's ill-fated invasion of Egypt is presented here in a style that wavers between a conventional military narrative (often repetitive and boring) and a cultural/social description (sometimes interesting). Strangely, given the book's title, Napoleon himself does not come alive in this book, but effectively is left dry and distant.

Readers should know Dr. Cole tilts toward the Islamic world in his weighing of all things in this long ago encounter between the new France and the ancient Middle East.

A very competent discussion of Napoleon Bonaparte's disastrous adventure in Egypt prior to his becoming the ruler of France in 1799. Napoleon developed in Egypt many of his later techniques of despotism and propaganda. However the attempt to seize Egypt as the beginning of a French empire in the east totally failed. Cole presents the native islamic Egyptian civilization with sympathy as it sought ways to counter French colonialism dressed up in republican virtue and enlightenment.

The prose is a bit drab and the story rather repetitious, but what makes this book useful is that is shows how 200 years before George Bush's criminal folly in Iraq all the mistakes of ignorant and arrogant Western adventurers had already been made by more sophisticated Frenchmen liberated from tradition by the French Revolution.

Perhaps the French could be given some sympathy for believing their own rhetoric, Bush deserves no sympathy for his gross ignorance and criminal insensitivity to history.

Napoleon had the most advanced, highly trained, effective and best armed army in his known universe. He was, in a way, the leader of an economic and military superpower. Then he invaded and occupied Egypt. In almost every battle, his superior forces won. In almost every deliberate move, his forces persevered and succeeded. Except for one pesky problem. He was stuck in the muddle east, where no invader is safe, no matter how much larger, richer and more superior their tactics and weapons were.

Sounds familiar? It should About 10 pages into the book you get this sense that the same description, the same arguments, the same approach was used by Team Bush. Yet, clearly, such a comparison was not Prof. Cole's purpose or intent.

I had little interest in reading about Napoleon's Little Egyptian invasion. In fact, what little I knew about it bored me. Then, I read this book. It is an eye opener. It is a serious, informative, and enjoyable read, while never lecturing or sounding like a college text.

Cole has a nice touch, and treats every subject he writes on with respect and a scholar's vision. This book is no different.
Whether you are interested in current affairs, and the IraqNam fiasco, or whether you love history, or even if you simply want a good read, I strongly recommend this book.

I'm a recent graduate of UC Santa Cruz (History of the Islamic World '05), and I've completed additional course work in Arabic at the University of Jordan in Amman. As a somewhat informed reader, Juan Cole's new book appears to me to be a refreshing synthesis of modern historiographical trends, with a classic writing style. When I pre-ordered the book in July, I had only been familiar with Cole's writing in his blog Informed Comment (a staple in my morning reading). While I love his commentary and analysis in the blog format, I felt compelled to write and comment on how wonderfully surprised I was by his historical writing, as exemplified by this book. The research and the narrative style compliment each other quite nicely, and it's a pleasure to read. Perhaps it's time for me to purchase Sacred Space and Holy War?