Book excerpt: Well-written, loaded with information, and with a rich assortment of illustrations, each Discoveries. volume is a look at one facet of art, archaeology, music, history, philosophy, popular culture, science, or nature. These innovatively designed, affordably priced, compact paperbacks bring ideas to life and amplify our understanding of civilization in a new way. In the span of only 15 years, a young, melancholic Corsican evolves into an ambitious conqueror and statesman to turn the tide of the French Revolution, founding contemporary France in the process but ultimately destroying himself. Everyone knows the story, in rough outline, of Napolion's rise and fall. This version of the saga is a useful, readable history, illustrated with more than 180 varied images, including paintings, prints, and maps. Revealing excerpts from Napolion's letters and journals, statements by his contemporaries, and a selection of other documents shed further light on his enormous effect on the course of world history."