I've always heard that "Napoleon was short" is a myth, because while he was only 5'6", that was actually above average for French men at the time. But now I'm reading Napoleon: A Biography by Frank Mclynn, and he discusses Napoleon's shortness multiple times, including disparaging remarks made towards the Emperor by his own people. So can anyone clean up this discrepancy? From what I've read, Frank Mclynn is a reputable historian, so I don't think this is a silly mistake on his part.