The Terrible Year : The Paris Commune, 1871

by Alistair Horne

Beneath the glittering facade of Louis-Napoleon's Second Empire there were forces of seething social and political unrest. When France succumbed to the Prussian invaders these forces came to the surface and the Commune took over. It ruled for only a brief seventy days before it died in a holocaust of fire and bloodshed that was far worse than anything perpetrated during France's Great Revolution of 1789, but it left behind an indelible mark which spread far beyond the boundaries of France. 'A brilliant writer' New York Times Book Review

Genres: History, France, Nonfiction, European History, Germany, Paris

Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Sir Alistair Allan Horne was an English journalist, biographer and historian of Europe, especially of 19th and 20th century France. He wrote more than 20 books on travel, history, and biography. He won the following awards: Hawthornden Prize, 1963, for The Price of Glory; Yorkshire Post Book of the Year Prize and Wolfson Literary Award, both 1978, both for A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962; French Légion d'Honneur, 1993, for work on French history;and Commander of the British Empire (CBE), 2003.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an admirably informative yet succinct summary of the history of the Paris Commune, including the all-important siege of Paris by Prussia which preceded it. One gets a good sense of the cultural milieu, the diversity of the factions in Paris, and the changing tides of the war with Prussia and then the civil war in France. However, the book is light on discusses the politics that animated the Commune, and you get the sense that the author doesn't really understand anarcho-socialism, such as when he seems befuddled by not being able to identify a sole leader of the Commune and expresses surprise at how little crime occurred in the absence of the police and courts. Apparently the emergent self-management of the people in anarcho-socialism eludes him.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a short history of the seventy days of the Paris Commune.
The book introduces the main protagonists and briefly the immediate events that led them to this moment.

Good on atmosphere, the brevity Of The book must leave us short on the political machinations and the historic canvas which culminates here.

As a brief report of the Commune it does it’s job and for the casual reader explains why the symbols of this rebellion still have a resonance today.

However for someone wanting a more complete explanation this book, probably as intended, falls short.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An abridged and heavily illustrated version of the author's 1965 book.

With only limited reflection associated with the just completed May 1968 revolts in Paris and an understandable uncertainty regarding the implications of regarding the transition from flower-power to hard-core left-wing terrorism on the verge of the seventies; the book does not provide any independent uniqueness beyond the original tome, but might be of interest for those wishing to have an easily digestible introductions to the events of 1870-1871.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clocking in at 143 pages, Alistair Horne's "The Terrible Year: The Paris Commune, 1871" is a compact read for the "need-to-know" reader. Starting with Napoleon III's defeat and capitulation at Sedan to the Prussians, Horne propels the reader thought the subsequent Siege of Paris and the socio-political causes leading up to the overthrow of the government and establishment of the Commune and its ultimate downfall. It is a fascinating event in history, especially how it was a test-run for WWI and its revolutions. Horne's work is essentially "just the facts, m'am" version of the le annee terrible. While it was engaging and very well-written, this reader would have liked more context and the human digressions that make reading history so rewarding. I wanted more backstory of the players and more of a sense of the machinations in society at the time. However, if you are interested in learning about the Commune without commitment to a longer book, this is for you.

[Alex Lisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I enjoyed this book and what a thirst it has given me for more like it. In a short life there is only so much one can hope to learn of our past, so this economic account was quite sufficient to satisfy my interest in this particular episode. I'll be looking out for similar such accessible historical insights for sure.

Here though, was yet another example of man's inability to direct his steps. Parisians (well a critical mass of them,) rise up on a tide of disillusionment, shame and disgust to chase its feeble, dithering government out of town, but then find they too have no cogent plan to rule in place of it and so dissipate their energy in an uncoordinated splurge of new laws as random as the views of those suddenly in a position to make them and so failing to exploit the momentary change in fortunes. Consequently, the government is able to recover the initiative and the illusory flame of hope is once more extinguished, and things by and large return to how they were and remain to this day with man dominating man to his injury whatever form it takes, as any news report will show.

[Leslie Zemeckis]

Paris and the end of the second empire - great research

[Sagar Jethani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear & concise account of the Paris Commune. Would have liked to found an epilogue about the lasting legacy of the Commune, especially on the Russian Revolution.

[Larry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summary.

[John Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book you can read in a day

[Bap · Rating 3 out of 5]

You never know what you will come across in the DC public library as I bone up for a trip to France. This is a story of the Paris commune in 1871 created after the buffoonish Napolean Iii was defeated in the battle of Sedan and forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty with the Prussians who were uniting Germany and given notice that they were the new bullies in the neighborhood. The Prussians waited outside of Paris for the capitulation and when the French got their backs up to resist, they began to shell Paris before the harsh peace was secured. The rabble of Paris were having nothing of this and no sooner than the surrender documents were signed, that they rose in revolt as they had earlier in 1789 and in 1848. They proclaimed a commune and the French government proceeded to lay siege on Paris a second time in the year, Frenchmen now killing Frenchmen. The Germans allowed the French to increase their allotted numbers and together with the general incompetence of the communards,They retook the city massacring at least 25,000. Karl Marx watched from London and blamed the lack of discipline and ruthlessness for the failure of the revolt. Lenin took note and in 1917 during the Bolshevick uprising. He vowed not to make the same mistakes.

This book is a sketch of events and is no work of art. It is full of period lithographs which are ameteurish. But without any other readily available accounts, I was happy for the education.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This a a very short (143 pages, and I emphasize "short") history of the Siege of Paris by the Prussian Army and the uprising and Commune that followed the cessation of hostilities of the Franco-Prussian War.

This is very bare bones, although well written as all of Horne's histories are. It starts after the Battle of Sedan, where the French Army was defeated by the Prussians. There is no exploration of causes or origins, nor is there any discussion of the political aftermath in France. It's just a narrative of what happened.

I'm not complaining; this is what I was looking for, since I knew very little about this historical moment and wasn't sure I wanted to expend significantly more time in a more in-depth history. Horne himself has a longer history--The Fall of Paris. If you really want to understand this subject, including the causes, etc., you should instead read something other than The Terrible Year.

[Vastine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short history of the Paris Commune of 1870-71 and its aspirations to create a socialist government. Horne, while often displaying sympathy for the revolutionaries, paints a picture of bickering band lacking any direction. Unfortunately, the end result of this ineptitude is tragic. A good introduction to one of the many tumultuous events that was France in their fascinating 19th Century.

[Lyle Deixler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant account of France's disastrous loss to the Germans in the Franco-Prussian war and its aftermath. The Commune takes over in Paris and rules for 70 days before Nationalist forces put a bloody end to the uprising.

[Lukas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great beginner's overview over the 1871 Paris Commune, with a bit of commentary on how it relates to the later social revolutions, and the earlier french revolutions.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

A detailed and energetic account of the short-lived Paris Commune, from its beginnings during the Franco-Prussian War to its bloody end.