He inherited the armies of the French Revolution that had overthrown a monarchy.and used them to conquer a continent on a scale never seen before. Napoleon developed what was perhaps the world's first "superpower," setting a pattern that would come to fruition in the 20th century (especially by totalitarian states). From descriptions of Bonaparte's rise, through the years of the Second Coalition and the Grande Armée, to the heights of victory at Austerlitz and Jena--and the depths of defeat in Russia and at Waterloo--a fascinating portrait emerges of a man and his methods.