Napoleon's Diary? Napoleon didn't keep a diary-that's what makes this book so interesting We know that Napoleon Bonaparte did not keep a diary. But what if he had? What would it look like? American historian, Robert Matteson Johnston, decided to find out. Working from memoirs and collections of correspondence, he painstakingly pieced together the items that likely would have appeared in Bonaparte's diary-had he kept one. Reading Napoleon's story, arranged in this way, is a fascinating and curiously addictive glimpse into the mind of one of the major figures in history. The organization is Johnston's-but every word is Napoleon's.