The Old Regime and The French Revolution
The Old Regime and The French Revolution
Book Brief
The Old Regime and The French Revolution
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1856300
Book • Nonfiction
France • 18th Century
1856
Adult
18+ years
Super Short Summary
The Old Regime and The French Revolution by Alexis de Tocqueville analyzes the root causes and societal conditions leading to the French Revolution. Tocqueville explores the Ancien Regime's structure, arguing it set ideal conditions for revolt due to its entrenched class divisions and centralized power, which the Revolution aimed to dismantle for equality and freedom. The work also contrasts post-Revolution France with the democratic model of the United States.
Informative
Mysterious
Contemplative
Challenging
Melancholic
Reviews & Readership
2,462 ratings
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Review Roundup
Alexis de Tocqueville's The Old Regime and The French Revolution is praised for its profound insights into the causes and consequences of the Revolution. Critics commend its analytical depth and relevance to contemporary studies of political change. However, some point out its dense prose and occasional Eurocentric perspective as drawbacks. Overall, it remains a seminal work in political and historical scholarship.
Who Should Read The Old Regime and The French Revolution?
Readers who relish historical analysis, sociopolitical theory, and revolutionary studies would be captivated by Alexis de Tocqueville's The Old Regime and The French Revolution. Comparable to Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France and Hannah Arendt's On Revolution, this book attracts those interested in the nuanced causes and consequences of revolutions.
2,462 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote The Old Regime and The French Revolution to explore the continuity between pre-revolutionary France and post-revolutionary French society, rather than seeing the French Revolution as an abrupt break from the past.
Tocqueville was fascinated by the administrative centralization of France, noting that much of it took root under the Old Regime, which laid the groundwork for the modern bureaucratic state.
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The book is renowned for its methodical analysis, in which Tocqueville uses a sociological lens to dissect historical changes, a technique that was innovative for historical study at the time of its publication.
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300
Book • Nonfiction
France • 18th Century
1856
Adult
18+ years
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