THE AGE OF REVOLUTION: Europe 1789 1848

The French revolution destroyed the last remnants of feudalism in that hand and wre ha? on the entire continent. But while contemporary historians were confidently announcing the decay of Europe, another revolution--the Industrial Revolution--was transforming not only the face of Britain, but the fact of Britain, and the face of the world. And this new world was to look to the Jacobin dream of equality, Liberty and fraternity for its politics and ology. In this history of Europe from 1789-1848, Mr. Hobshawm describes and analyzes the impact of this dual revolution on our modern world. No aspect of human life remained unchanged. In Part I the author describes the social consequences of the industrial revolution in Britain--the economic and social adaptations required to maintain its new and revolutionary course--and the effects of the long revolutionary war on the political structure of Europe. In chapters 6 and 7 Mr. Hobshawm analyzes two vital movements born of the dual revolution: nationalism and social revolt. In Part II the author surveys the development of the arts and sciences in this period and demonstrates how they reflected the thinking of their age. Mr. Hobshawm has taken on a massive subject. He has succeeded in distilling his ideas into a relatively short and comprehensible volume. Little of what the author has to say is new, but the book should be useful to the busy student and intelligent layman who has an interest in this period of European history. Recommended chiefly for universities and large public libraries.