The victory of the latter is still seen in the French constitution and French attitudes towards regional cultures and languages - after all 53 of the 89 départements at the time of revolution were non-French speaking. . "The terror," declared Schama in the book, "was merely 1789 with a higher body count; violence ... was not just an unfortunate side effect ... it was the Revolution's source of collective energy. Is it melodramatic at times? Now, the French Revolution is complicated. Had I not found it in the Oxfam bookshop (hardback £2.99), I might never have got round to plugging this enormous great gap in my knowledge of essential history. I've always adored Simon Schama's storytelling.
Each month we recycle over 2.3 million books, saving over 12,500 tonnes of books a year from going straight into landfill sites. Schama likes to move from anecdote to broad history and at its best the anecdotes act as concise representations of the overall story – although at times they can become mannerisms, a strategy to give the long narrative a bit of colour. If you reside in an EU member state besides UK, import VAT on this purchase is not recoverable. The result is a far less glamourous and heroic epoch. In all, a refreshing vision narrated in a passionate style, without sacrifice of detail. Taking the narrative A story; in the writing of history it usually describes an approach that favours story over analysis.
by Random House, Inc. (NYC) Nor does he pay sufficient attention to what the events of the revolThis is an excellent, enjoyable narrative about the period surrounding and including the French revolution, but it is not a great history. I guess I knew it was violent and it was a big deal but it was French and I was American and really who needs that when you have this?
A NY Times cloth bestseller. 200 illustrations.The Coming of the French Revolution by lefebvre. Thematically, his most important contribution is in revealing French culture and society in the reign of Louis XVI to have been "troubled more by its addiction to change than resistance to it." by But this euphoric vision turns sour. Oh yes. by And Simon Schama’s history of the French Revolution, Citizens, has literary merit.
Citizens is a truly wonderful example of narrative historical writing - a "tremendous performance", to borrow a favourite expression of Simon Schama.
But he has a sympathy for Talleyrand or Louis XVI that he does not allow Danton or Robespierre: the latter two are little more than monsters.
Start by marking “Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution” as Want to Read:
Compared to Lefebvre's treatment, his is weak. A history written about any event and any period has at least two aspects, the presenting of a chronology of events on the one hand, and, on the other, an interpretation that includes hypotheses about causes and implications of what occurred.
Starting with Part II there is a sequence and key aspects of the Revolution are well described, such as the seizure of the Bastille. Excludes: Azerbaijan Republic, Botswana, Cuba, Republic of, Mauritania, Mauritius, ParaguayThere are 3 items available.
Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Shama traces the journey of a large dramatis personae, composed of figures both well-known and obscure, from the academic salons of the Ancien Regime, through the heady days of 1789 and down to the frenzied brutality of the Jacobin Terror.
From the New York Times review: "Mr. Schama is at his most powerful when denouncing the central truth of the Revolution: its dependence on organized (and disorganized) killing to attainI read this years ago but have been thinking about it a lot lately. Why?
Humor, and an eye for detail, lightens the tone of what is, at times, a very somber picture of humanity.Before 10th Grade The French Revolution was something I was only moderately aware of. Which is an unsettling bias, because, while the French revolution and Reign of Terror were undoubThis is the best history of the French Revolution I have ever read, even if it betrays a very disturbing pro-Israeli slant.