The French Revolution and Napoleon: Crucible of the Modern World

by Lynn Hunt, Jack R. Censer

In this book Lynn Hunt and Jack R. Censer lucidly trace events from 1789 until the fall of Napoleon, stressing the global dimensions of the French Revolution and offering balanced coverage of both its causes and outcomes. In doing so, Hunt and Censer reaffirm its huge significance for the modern political world in the process.

Hunt and Censer give due attention to global competition, fiscal crisis, slavery and the beginnings of nationalism alongside more traditional topics, such as human rights and constitutions, terror and violence, and the rise of authoritarianism. This global lens allows the authors to convincingly demonstrate how the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire fundamentally altered the political landscapes of Europe, the Americas, North Africa and parts of Asia as well. The book also contains end-of-chapter questions, timelines and a wealth of primary source extracts for analysis and class discussion.

This 2nd edition has been fully updated throughout and now

· A new first chapter which greatly enhances the wider 18th-century background material. It explains how events, trends, and personalities from the 1770s onwards created an opening that was turned into a world-shattering revolution.
· A historiography textbox feature in each chapter that addresses topics and individuals like Louis XVI, terror, Robespierre and the Haitian Revolution. The feature sees two contrasting excerpts analysed and contextualized in each case.
· 18 further images and 6 more maps for a stronger visual aspect and better geographical context.

Genres: History, France, Read For School

296 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2017

About the author

Lynn Avery Hunt is the Eugen Weber Professor of Modern European History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her area of expertise is the French Revolution, but she is also well known for her work in European cultural history on such topics as gender. Her 2007 work, Inventing Human Rights, has been heralded as the most comprehensive analysis of the history of human rights. She served as president of the American Historical Association in 2002.

Reviews

[Derrick Brousseau]

Very readable for an average audience. Captivating narrative without sacrificing historical authenticity. The authors attempt to place the Revolution and Napoleonic Wars in a global context and I would say they mostly succeed, but it read a lot like “oh, and here’s a little bit of details from outside our main event… okay back to the main thing.”

Good book, I enjoyed reading it.

[Romy Voeten]

Gedetailleerd verhaal met de achtergrond van de Franse Revolutie

[Miles Ogden-Powers]

A good and compelling history, if not a bit dry at parts. Assigned for a college course.

[Adam Windsor]

A solid introductory text to the period it covers, though it's not going to satisfy those who want an in-depth analysis of the major figures of the revolutionary period, nor those with a military history bent. This is very much a big picture, big politics kind of text. If that's what you're looking for, though, it's certainly a good place to start, with some interesting discussion about how the revolutionary leaders justified The Terror, and how Bonaparte's regime shaped society both then and now.

[Gerald H]

This is a wonderful book. In 238 pages it gives a very concise history of the French Revolution and Nap[olean. It is packed with events and people
It details the impact of the Revolution on France and the world. Ir shows the brilliance of Napolean but also his overreach and fall. It also shows the complexity of revolution and the excesses it led to including the violence it employed to try to make the revolution work.

[Charlie Ye]

While the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era undeniably shaped the course of global history, I’m not entirely sold on the author's argument that global factors were the primary catalyst for the revolution itself. Personally, I believe that the specific, intricate domestic complexities of France and Europe were the true drivers behind the outbreak of the revolution and the multifaceted events that followed.

[Jovanna]

Read for 19th Century Europe class. No.

[haryii]

good intro

[Ashley Thijssing]

Lynn Hunt, the historian you are 🙏

[Nick Jenks]

The French are tapped