Yesterday, I visited the British Museum. They've got a large room with exhibits on the Enlightenment. The walls of the room are lined with bookshelves from (I think) King George III's library. I happened across two books by Napoleon:
(Ah whoops, these are by Napoleon III not Napoleon I. Wikipedia says Napoleon I did actually write a book on Caesar while in exile.)
I had previously read that Napoleon held Caesar in high regard, and that when someone compared him to Caesar he broke down and felt his life had come full circle.
But I had always imagined that he only read about Caesar or took notes every now and then. Actually, Napoleon actually took the time to write at least two whole books on his idol. Napoleon who was the most important man in France for a few decades and always at war thought it important to sit and write books.
It’s not that important and busy people don’t often write books. It’s more that I’ve imagined someone like Napoleon as singularly focused on whatever he’s most known for. But increasingly, I find that many historical figures actually have done a lot of other things with their lives. Not that they were or tried to be jack-of-all-trades, but that they seemed to just do things that seemed interesting, instead of weighing as much as I do whether that thing is worth pursuing. How wonderful that the optimal strategy to changing the world (not that I or other people should want to change the world for its own sake) is to live a full life.
Napoleon also wrote a lot of letters. He must have written almost everyday, though I doubt that was uncommon for a military commander.