The King's Trial : Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution

Rating:
Summary: Bloodless account of the decapitation heard round the world.
Review: This is a fair, balanced, but too dry account of the trial and execution of Louis XVI. All the facts are there, but none of the drama. The book also suffers from the propensity to summarize rather than describe events. The author seems reluctant to delve too deeply into details, assuming we've all heard the story before. Thus the drama never seems to come alive; the whiff of the textbook hovers over its pages.
On the positive side, Mr. Jordan has no axes to grind and maintains a scrupulous objectivity. Suprisingly, it is only Louis himself who has the power to elicit an emotional response, albeit restrained, from our author. Chapter four, his portrait of Louis' life in the Temple, provides a touching portrait of the King, enhanced by the inclusion of the famous sketch of the King in profile shortly before his death.