The Paris Commune: French Politics, Culture, and Society at the Crossroads of the Revolutionary Tradition and Revolutionary Socialism

European History in Perspective

by David A. Shafer

At the end of the "Bloody Week" in May 1871, which saw the defeat of the Paris Commune, more people were killed at Paris than were executed throughout France during the French Revolution's ten-month Reign of Terror. Situating the Commune within the political culture and traditions bequeathed to the nineteenth century by the French Revolution, this survey of the Commune is designed to familiarize students with its historical antecedents, its narrative history, and those topics which have rendered the Commune so critical to an understanding of revolutions.

Genres: History, France

240 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overall introduction to the Paris Commune. Very straightforward and factual, this textbook is suitable for students of French history, as well as those with a strong curiosity about the Paris Commune, one of the most important events or movements to have occurred. Reading this study of the movement in 2025 transforms this book about the past into a contemporary issue.