In the past few weeks I've made it through a number of fascinating titles - Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.; American Sniper; Bill O'Reilly's titles, Killing Patton and Killing Kennedy; The Shadow Factory, a history of the NSA since the September 11 attacks; 1493, a fascinating followup to Charles C. Mann's engrossing 1491, dealing with what the world was like after the Americas were explored, colonized, and conquered by Europeans, and a handful of other historical and biographical works.
Currently I'm enjoying Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts, a 33 hour epic telling of one of the world's most famous figures, and I've been struck as I've listened to his story. Not only did Bonaparte take the world by storm, but he did so at a relatively young age. By age 30 he had installed himself as First Consul of the French Republic.
Alexander the Great, one of Napoleon's heroes, died at the age of 32, having conquered one of the largest empires the world has ever known.
By 30, John D. Rockefeller, Sr. was at the helm of Standard Oil, the largest corporation in America, founded with $1 million in capital.
It leaves me wondering. What have I accomplished at 28?
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