The age of revolution 1789-1848

356 pages

English language

Published Nov. 2, 1996

ISBN:
978-0-679-77253-8
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Goodreads:
550840

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4 stars (1 review)

The Age of Revolution: Europe: 1789–1848 is a book by Eric Hobsbawm, first published in 1962. It is the first in a trilogy of books about "the long 19th century" (coined by Hobsbawm), followed by The Age of Capital: 1848–1875, and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914. A fourth book, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991, acts as a sequel to the trilogy. Hobsbawm analysed the early 19th century, and indeed the whole process of modernisation thereafter, using what he calls the twin revolution thesis. This thesis recognised the dual importance of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution as midwives of modern European history, and – through the connections of colonialism and imperialism – world history.

2 editions

A compelling Marxian history

4 stars

A compelling of the first third-ish of the so-called long nineteenth century by British Marxist Eric Hobsbawm. It is generally compelling and engaging. Beyond the normal arguments about how and Cold War-era Marxist has aged from today's standpoints, Hobsbawm came across to me as pretty hand-waving when it comes to much of the non-European world, with some obvious exceptions (the US) and limited and conditional other exceptions (Japan). I don't know if greater attention to places and times he glosses over would change his argument, but it would undoubtedly have enriched it.