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| From the Wikipedia article on the 1848 revolutions |
New York : Basic Books, 2010, c2008.
xii, 461 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm.
You might remember that a while back I wanted to read Barbara Tuchman's Proud Tower, but realized that my background knowledge of 18th and 19th century Europe was sorely lacking - and so read a slim little volume about the Napoleonic Wars - and then was going to read 1848. Well, I've read it, and what an intense and complicated time 1848-1850 was! Revolutions in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Venice, Rome, Buda and Pest, Naples, and Florence (among others) pitted liberals, reactionaries, nationalists, imperialists, Papists, monarchists, socialists, revolutionaries, the peasantry, and the nobility in violent conflicts to determine the future of regions, kingdoms, and Europe as a whole. By the time 1850 rolled around, the forces of authoritarianism, conservatism and reaction sadly had triumphed - but what an incredible time it was...
In spite of the extreme complexities involved (maps would have been an invaluable addition to this book), Rapport writes well and is able to convey many of the significant underlying themes, conflicts, causes and effects of the year 1848. His book really is relevant, since much of what stoked the conflicts still exists - extreme wealth and extreme poverty, ethnic versus nationalist tensions, majority rule versus minority protections, and individual rights versus the common good.
I can't say I'd recommend this book to just any student, but if there were a student who loved history and was interested in European history, then this is definitely an excellent read!
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