The Oxford History of the French Revolution

Rating:
Summary: Too dense!!
Review: As a student reading this book for a class focusing on the French Revolution I found it too dense for someone who has no previous knowledge of the revolution. Doyle packs A LOT of information into these 425 pages. He does not place emphasis on any particular people or events which makes understanding specific turning points difficult. However, I can imagine this book would be ideal for one who already has a thorough understanding of the French Revolution and is simply looking for a new perspective.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding narrative history of the French Revolution
Review: The Oxford History of the French Revolution, written by William Doyle, is easily the best narrative survey of the French Revolution out there today. Its a long and dense work to be sure, but given the length and complexity of the French Revolution (as well as the events that preceded it and immediately followed it) and Doyle's book is remarkably concise, while still covering all of the important events, personages, developments and issues in ample detail. In truth, it's really quite stunning that a history of just a few hundred pages is able to address not just internal politics, but matters of religion, diplomacy, ideology, economics, society, and war-- and to do so in a manner that flows smoothly and clearly. Some folks, of course, may whine about the book still being very dense or complex... but that's the way the French Revolution is-- and there's just no getting around that if you actually want to tell the whole story. The fact is that the Revolution isa remarkably tangled series of events and can't simply be reduced to a simple easy-to-follow story. That's that's why it actually forms its own subfield within the field of modern European history-- it's that big and and that complex. In sum, Doyle's book is an outstanding work of narrative history that covers its subject thoroughly-- although those looking for more detail on particulars will of course want to consult other works. Very highly recommended as an insightful to those interested in a good solid account of the French Revolution and a reference book even for scholars.

Rating:
Summary: A bloodless account.
Review: This book has all the virtues--and all the vices---of academic history. The facts are all there and the professor is admirably fair and balanced, so hard to find when the French Revolution is the subject at hand, but where's the passion? I confess I found myself constantly checking how many pages to go as I neared the end of these over four hundred dry pages. This is a book for the student more than the general reader looking for the passion behind the facts, or for exciting narrative. At the end I was happier to have finished than to have read this book.