Another example of Dwyer's refusal to give Napoleon any human qualities is his treatment of Napoleon's emotional response to Lannes' fatal wound. While he grudgingly says Napoleon's response was "apparently" real, he then has to say that Napoleon (dickishly) made his response political and that it was merely an effort to show is (phony) "paternal" interest in his army. There is no actual evidence one way or the other of what was truly in Napoleon's heart, but Dwyer always assumes the worst.

Eventually, after page after page of similar readings of Napoleon's (dickish) motivations it becomes hard to keep from laughing at Dwyer's dire view of his subject.