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The Age of Revolution
Europe 1789–1848
First published 1962 · 532 pages
A sweeping, intellectually thrilling masterclass on the twin engines of industry and rebellion that forged the modern world.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like standing on a mountaintop watching the tectonic plates of history shift beneath your feet. It is a steady, intellectually rigorous journey through the dual revolution that birthed modernity: the French political upheaval and the British industrial explosion. The mood is grand and turbulent, capturing the chaotic energy of a world tearing down its ancient hierarchies to build something entirely new, yet fraught with deep inequalities. The prose is magisterial and dense, demanding your full attention as it weaves vast economic data and political philosophy into a cohesive, sweeping narrative. It will deeply satisfy readers who love structural history, offering a profound, panoramic understanding of how the chaotic forces of the nineteenth century shaped the world we inhabit today.
- Mood
- turbulent
- grand
- intellectually rigorous
- epochal
- Tone
- authoritative
- analytical
- sweeping
- erudite
- polemical
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- the birth of modernity · class struggle · societal upheaval · the dual revolution · industrialization and its discontents
- The writing
- Magisterial and dense, weaving vast amounts of historical data into sharp, synthesizing arguments and memorable aphorisms.
- The arc
- Moves from the thrilling, chaotic rupture of the old world order to a sobering contemplation of the harsh realities of industrial capitalism.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave grand, structural narratives of history and want to understand the economic and political forces that forged the modern world.
Content notes
- political violence
- warfare
- systemic poverty
- class conflict
About the book
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.
Description from Open Library.
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