Short story about the French Revolution

Published in 1939 on the eve of WWII and the Vichy Regime (which burned 8,000 copies), Lefebvre's account of the event which initiated the modern era in the West remains the most accesible and readable of any work on the subject before or since. Lefebvre's Marxist analysis of the event (the dominant interpretation until recently) may appear archaic to contemporary readers. Nevertheless the work is a highly enjoyable analysis of the various sectors of French society and how they contributed to the Revolution. The flowery or arcane scholarly knowledge of later accounts pales before Lefebvre's engaging prose. All in all, a highly recommended work.

I had to use this book for my Intro to History class at a summer program, and it was a great help. The documents are from a wide variety of sources, presenting a balanced picture of the French Revolution from all angles: males, slaves, peasants, the King, women, and all the classes. The documents weave together into a fascinating narrative, and many were instrumental in writing my research paper on the Terror. Thank you for this book!

don't often read history just for the enjoyment factor, but this book may have changed that. It is written in a straight forward manner, with humor and lightness that does not take away from the scholarship included. A true joy to read, even if you are familiar with many of the events, and you are sure to learn something new in the process.

The title of the book is totally accurate. What we find in it is a brief, but also objective and straightforward, history of important issues that shaped the French Revolution and the contemporary political institution building processes. The book distributes important speeches, proposed bills and other documents in different sections, each of which dealing with specific problems (slavery, equality of citizens' rights, the status of the jews etc). It is a very useful book for those who are not scholars in the area but are looking for some reliable source. I highly recommend it.

Professor Doyle captures the intricacies of France leading to the French Revolution. His piece can be somewhat dense in parts which further detracts from the subject when mixed with the several grammatical and spelling errors contained within. While the style and format could be improved, the book is filled with useful information.

any relatively recent books on the French Revolution, such as Simon Schama's excellent CITIZENS, seem to presuppose a basic knowledge of the highlights and terms of the Revolution itself (the Tennis Court Oath, the Jacobins, Thermidor, etc.) but also of its aftermath (Louis XVIII and Charles X, Napoleon;s Egypt campaign, etc.). Doyle's book presupposes almost nothing, and lays out for the common reader not only a very clear and concise of the Revolution itself but also the ancien regime that preceded, and the restorations, republics, and empires that succeeded it. Best of all, it makes interesting claims in its introduction and conclusion as to why the Revolution mattered to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as an intellectual and political event, and even (for good measure) a coherent account of the battles raging among the Annales schools of historians in France up to the present day. Fine work, and a great introduction.

Christopher Hibbert's fine narrative about the French Revolution is an excellent way for the general reader to learn the essentials of the keystone event of modern European history. But for the French Revolution there would have been no Napoleon. But for the French Revolution there probably would never have been a Russian Revolution.

Causes of the French Revolution Historical

Our pub historian explores the French Revolution, when it happened, what took place and what it acheived.