A New World Begins

The History of the French Revolution

By: Jeremy D. Popkin

Narrated by: Pete Cross, Jeremy D. Popkin

Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

The principles of the French Revolution remain the only possible basis for a just society - even if, after more than 200 years, they are more contested than ever before. In A New World Begins, Jeremy D. Popkin offers a riveting account of the revolution that puts the listener in the thick of the debates and the violence that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new society.

We meet Mirabeau, Robespierre, and Danton, in all of their brilliance and vengefulness; we witness the failed escape and execution of Louis XVI; we see women demanding equal rights and Black slaves wresting freedom from revolutionaries who hesitated to act on their own principles; and we follow the rise of Napoleon out of the ashes of the Reign of Terror.

Based on decades of scholarship, A New World Begins will stand as the definitive treatment of the French Revolution.

©2019 Jeremy D. Popkin (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Very good.

About as good a one volume history of the French Revolution you’ll find, and with a very nice reader.

Brings to life a critical period

Popkin's history of the French revolution delve into several usually overlooked aspects, including race relationships, the position of the Jewish community in the larger society, and decriminalization of homosexuality. I miss the raw feelings that gave rise to it and ended it, something like Dickens accomplishes in the Tale of Two Cities. (Yes, I know this is a history book and not a novel, but still ..)

Clearly read

Pete Cross gives an articulate narration of Popkin’s illuminating, dense, well written historiography of the French Revolution.

Illuminating

Clarity, detail, and skillful description of people and events. Narration was clear and effective. A fascinating listen.

Dense but Revolutionary

I teach American Political Science and became interested in French history (without much history background).

This listen was at times challenging. Not lying when I had to rewind a couple of chapters in their entirety because I was lost in the weeds.

However, it was worth it. Well done. Fair. And not too dense to be inaccessible to the casual history, political science nerd like me.

An Interesting Read

I enjoy reading and listening to history, so this was a great choice for me. I learned so much about the French revolution and its many historical players. I did find I had to listen to some parts multiple times because of all the French names and terminology. However overall, I really enjoyed the book!

amazing review of the French Revolution.

It's a story written with a clear path from start to finish. it is consistent and mostly without bias. it does not shy away from atrocity and is good at changing perspectives as needed to allow the reader to understand the thoughts and actions of each character. while some say he is critical of Napoleon, he is no more critical of him than the truth is.

interesting and easy to follow

i learned a lot about the French revolution. very easy to follow. not too academic.

A great and engaging story

I’ve been looking for a comprehensive introduction to the French Revolution and this book finally meets my needs.

It is well written and easy to follow. As someone who listens to a lot of books on history, I especially appreciate that the author frequently gives dates (it’s a little thing, but goes a long way).

The author is not without his biases (excusing Robespierre and his colleagues, while being critical of Napoleon), but it doesn’t detract from this sweeping story.

A Noble Idea Laid Waste by Human Frailty

Revolution in France began with the highest ideals. Absolute monarchy would be replaced with democracy. The people of France would control their own government, and thereby their destiny as a nation. Social classes would become equal in the law. Human rights would advance, even beyond those proclaimed 14 years before by the American Colonists, The French Monarch would abide by a new French Constitution. Liberty, equality, fraternity, and above all reason would reside in the new revolutionary state.

All this idealism and seeming enlightenment came a cropper. As the French Revolution moved along from the exhilaration of 1789, when the Bastille fell and a new Estates General/parliament began debating the adoption of a Constitution based mostly on the American document, things began falling apart. The French King was reluctant to surrender his powers, until forced to become a prisoner, then branded a traitor, and finally sent to the guillotine. A series of charismatic revolutionary firebrands commanded political power, then fell afoul of plotters within the Assembly, and met with the executioner as had the King. Meanwhile. France's revolutionary ardor was met with armed hostility by the rest of Europe. Wars of varying intensity erupted between France and its neighbors throughout the 1790's. This left the political rulers of France little time to tamp down the firebrands and the plotters, while boosting the leadership of ambitious military men, among these a little-known Napoleon Bonaparte.

A New World Begins is an excellent one-volume history of the Revolutionary period in France, beginning in the 1780's when the country's economy was wrecked by peasant uprisings, crop failures. and war debts (the French had spent dearly while helping the Americans defeat their British rulers). The Revolutionary years from 1789 to 1804 are extensively covered, although Napoleon's rise from minor officer in the new French army to crowning himself emperor of the French is dealt with almost as an afterthought in the final section of the book.

What I believe this book does is shout a warning from history: that with the noblest ideas of creating a peaceful, prosperous society where all citizens are equal before the law, a state can descend into anarchy. In this state, the politically strong send the weak to be executed, no one is beyond the executioner's reach, and ultimately a strongman (or woman) rises to end the madness and impose his or her will.