This book concludes the Memoirs of General de Caulaincourt begun in With Napoleon in Russia. The period covered is that tragic stretch when Napoleon's defeat was assured, but the future still uncertain. Caulaincourt was closest to Napoleon, closest to the representatives of the European powers in whose hands lay his fate, of anyone who has left the story. This is again a very intimate picture of the Emperor, and adds to historic knowledge in contributing actual evidence of what really happened in regard to Napoleon's attempted suicide, after the decision to separate him from his wife and child and hold him in Elba. A must-read for all Napoleon fans, and for all who read and liked the earlier book.