What do you think?
Rate this book
The French Revolution
1966
- GenresHistory
Hardcover
First published February 4, 1985
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 3, 2013
As a thorough look at the French Revolution, you can't go wrong with this book. Over 200 pages covering the five or six years that made up the revolution allow Sydenham to be thorough indeed. Sydenham often does his best to include historians' opinions on what and why things happened, and then gives his own arguments, which leaves the reader with a rather good understanding of the whole affair.
I can't say much more about this book. It's nothing special and, generally, I would hope that our education system teaches all of us most of what's in this book. There's not a whole ton in here that should come as new or surprising to a well-educated person, though generally the book is more detailed than a high school class can offer.
There certainly are occasions, though, when Sydenham's style arouses confusion. If you haven't learned about the French Revolution before and don't know some of the major players or events already, the swiftness with which Sydenham flies through the revolution can be slightly unnerving and confusing. He doesn't necessarily explain so much as informs. Most of the events are self-explanatory and don't need explanation, but some of the background information does need explaining, I think, and Sydenham doesn't offer it.
I can't say much more about this book. It's nothing special and, generally, I would hope that our education system teaches all of us most of what's in this book. There's not a whole ton in here that should come as new or surprising to a well-educated person, though generally the book is more detailed than a high school class can offer.
There certainly are occasions, though, when Sydenham's style arouses confusion. If you haven't learned about the French Revolution before and don't know some of the major players or events already, the swiftness with which Sydenham flies through the revolution can be slightly unnerving and confusing. He doesn't necessarily explain so much as informs. Most of the events are self-explanatory and don't need explanation, but some of the background information does need explaining, I think, and Sydenham doesn't offer it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review