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"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 includes: 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"--
List of contents
List of Illustrations
List of Maps
List of Tables
Preface
1. Why France Had a Revolution in 1789
2. The Power of the People, 1789-1792
3. A Republic in Constant Crisis, 1792-1794
4. The Power of the Military, 1794-1799
5. From Bonapartist Republic to Napoleonic Empire, 1800-1807
6. The Napoleonic Eagle Soars and Finally Plummets, 1808-1815
Conclusion: Crucible of the Modern World
Notes
Index
About the author
Lynn Hunt is Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. She is the author of numerous books, including Measuring Time, Making History (2008) and, with Jack R. Censer, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution (2001). She is also the co-editor, along with Suzanne Desan and William Nelson, of The French Revolution in Global Perspective (2013).Jack R. Censer is Professor Emeritus of History at George Mason University, USA. He is the author of several books on the French Old Regime and Revolution, including Prelude to Power (l976; reissued 2019), The French Press in the Age of Enlightenment (1994) and, with Lynn Hunt, The French Revolution and Napoleon (2022; 2nd edition, Bloomsbury Academic). He has also explored the modern press in On the Trail of the D.C. Sniper (2010). His most recent work is Debating Modern Revolution (2016, Bloomsbury Academic).
Summary
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 includes:
· 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.
Additional text
To elucidate the French Revolution and Napoleonic era, this innovative book combines analysis of domestic factors and global forces, such as the transnational circulation of ideas, conflicts over empire and slavery, and warfare within Europe and the Atlantic world. Written in an evocative and accessible way, this second edition also incorporates new material on historiography and primary sources to illuminate the political significance and interpretive stakes of this pivotal era.
