nationbooksprojectofnation
large_book

Buy It Online
    Amazon >
    IndieBound.org >
    Powells.com >

Napoleon's Glance

The Secret of Strategy

William Duggan
March 2003     ISBN: 1560254572

In 1810 Napoleon was the most successful general in history. That same year Carl von Clausewitz joined the new Prussian War College in Berlin. He spent the next twenty years struggling to define the genius of Napoleon. In Chapter Six of his great work, On War, Clausewitz reveals the secret: Napoleon's glance. He calls it coup d'oeil, meaning literally a stroke of the eye, or glance--a sudden insight that shows you what course of action to take. It comes from knowledge of the past: You draw in what worked in other situations, in a new combination that fits the problem at hand.

Napoleon's Glance shows, in a striking series of historical vignettes, how ten great strategists owed their success to coup d'oeil: How General Patton became the most successful Allied general on the Western Front of World War II. How Joan of Arc saved France. How Picasso became the leading artist of the twentieth century. And so on through the centuries, across continents, in every field of human endeavor.

What readers are saying

"Pop business meets military and intellectual history in this intriguing study of strategizing as a habit of being."

--Kirkus Review

About the Authors

William Duggan is the author of The Great Thirst and Lovers of the African Night. He has a PhD from Columbia University and teaches strategy there. He is the co-founder of the Creative Strategy Group, which helps organizations and individuals apply Napoleon's glance to whatever they do.

signup

for our FREE e-mail newsletter, a monthly dispatch of events, excerpts, commentary by Nation Books and Nation Institute writers.



A Procession of Them: Photo Exhibition

November 26 - January 18 | 401 Projects, New York
Watch Institute Fellow Eugene Richards' photographic exhibition, A Procession of Them, at 401 Projects in New York City.

January 15 | 8:30 am
Deepa Fernandes Wins North Star News Prize
(4 Times Square, NYC)
Institute Fellow Deepa Fernandes is one of three winners of the North Star News Prize, which recognizes people of color who have made outstanding contributions to journalism, media and communications, and public understanding of the struggle for social justice. MORE

January 24 - May 16
Out of the Global City: An Uncommon Dialogue Series
(St. Mark’s Church Parish Hall, NYC)
Join us for this free lecture series as we explore what living in the global city of New York means. Through it, we hope to nurture deeper engagement between the arts and social justice sectors to imagine and work toward a more just city (and world). Speakers include artists, activists, organizers, academics, writers, media makers and more! MORE

February 6 | 7:30 pm
Eugene Richards Presents His Two Latest Books
(Fotovision, San Francisco)
Listen to Institute Fellow Eugene Richards present his two latest books of photography, A Procession of Them and The Blue Room. Richards will be signing books after the event. MORE

February 18
Lecture/Signing at the ICP
(New York City)
Renowned photographer and Institute Fellow Eugene Richards will give a lecture at the International Center of Photography in New York City, after which he will sign copies of his two latest books, A Procession of Them and The Blue Room. MORE