Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Examination of the Revolution
Review: This is a massive book (over 800 pages) that exhaustively examines the French Revolution. It has a large number of illustrations and maps that brings the text to life and while Doyle's History of the French Revolution may be more neutral, this book addresses areas not fully explored by Doyle.
One of Schama's themes is that the common peasants did not desire liberty so much as protection from their landlords in the local courts and to preserve grazing rights. Had Louis been a little more assertive he could certainly have remained King of a constitutional monarchy. All in all a facinating read.
Rating: 
Summary: Very well written, but ultimately unconvincing
Review: This is a popular work of history, and it is easy to see why. 1) Schama has a wonderful eye for anecdote, starting with the tale of the plaster elephant at the site of the Bastille, to how Talleyrand could not conduct a proper mass to save his life, to how Lafayette tried to escape from the Austrians and all too typically failed. 2) The book is lavishly illustrated with many compelling contemporary images. Not only do we see the passion for science in chandeliers resembling Montgolfier balloons, but we see the patriotic enthusiasm in revolutionary coffee cups and the revolutionary calendar. We are also blessed with Schama's skill as an art historian. Everyone recognizes David's The Oath of the Horatii, but how many now the bloodthirsty conclusion to the tale? Schama does, and this helps his point about the sanguinary and murderous side with the obsession with classical virtue. 3) Schama is a very effective writer, and few will be able to read his accounts of the September Massacres or the suppression of the Vendee or the execution of the Malesherbes family during the terror without a shudder of revulsion. Moreover he is capable of discussing a wide variety of topics, whether it is the nature of the fiscal crisis of the Bourbon monarchy or the cultural construction of the citizen. 4) In contrast to Richard Pipes' The Russian Revolution, Schama is able to consult the most recent literature to support his attack on the French revolution. He cites Chaussinand-Nogaret on the progressive, entrepreneurial and capitalist nature of the aristocracy. He builds on Darnton to emphasize the pornographic libels against Marie Antoinette. He builds on the Anglo-American empiricists like Behrens and Doyle to attack the idea of a bourgeois revolution, and the ideological emphasis of Furet and Baker to argue that 1789 was merely the Terror with a lower death count. 5) The result is a work with a compelling thesis, that the Ancien Regime was in many ways a progressive regime, advancing towards capitalism, abolishing torture and increasing toleration for Protestants. Unfortunately bad luck and ideological fanaticism caused the revolution to go wildly off course, ending in a disaster of massacre, bloodshed and ruin.So what's wrong with the book? 1) Well, anecdote can be misleading. At one point in order to emphasize the Convention's proto-totalitarian nature he points to their discussion of a deputy's plans to take children away from their parents so that they could be educated by the state. But Isser Woloch and Jean-Pierre Gross have shown that this particular discussion was more an act of respect to the deputy, who had recently been assassinated, than a serious proposal. Their actual plans for public education were far more moderate and liberal. And while readers may agree with Schama that it is of great symbolic importance that the great painter Delacroix was fathered by Talleyrand, Delacroix's most recent biographer, Barthelmy Jobert strongly argues that it didn't happen. 2) Schama's emphasis on culture and ideology as the winds that smashed the revolution against the rocks are full of problems. American revolutionaries also cited classical antiquity with apparently no ill effects. The two most famous sayings of the American Revolution, "Give me liberty or give me death," "I regret that I only have one life to give to my country," both come from Addison's Cato. Can it really be said that everyone lost their heads over Rousseau, when his admirers, like the Masons and the quasi-Protestant Jansenists, split both ways when the revolution came? 3) It is one thing to quote recent scholarship. But other recent scholarship strongly points out the problems with Schama's account. Gwynne Lewis has pointed out that the nobility cannot really be said to be as capitalist and entrepreneurial as Schama believes. Timothy Tackett has pointed out that the revolutionary deputies were not so besotted with abstract ideology as revisionists believe, while the nobility's deputies were richer, of older lineage, and more Catholic and less liberal than Schama would lead us to believe. Alan Spitzer has pointed out that the evidence of a fundamental fiscal crisis cannot be so easily disposed with. He also points out that one reason why foreign trade collapsed so heavily in the 1790s was because so much of it depended on slavery, which the Convention abolished. Barry Shapiro has pointed out that counter-revolutionary plots were not a paranoid delusion, and that the revolutionary government in its first years had a moderate and responsible attitude towards them. Paul Spagnoli has pointed out that the revolutionary decades saw a clear increase in life expectancy which was not matched in the rest of Europe. Allan Kulikoff has pointed out that the American republic took decades to recover from its own brutal war of American independence. 4) Schama's basic position is elitist and shallow. He equates progress with unregulated markets, views popular movements for democracy with contempt and suspicion and enthuses over a forward looking bureaucracy/elite which could have solved France's problems if political discussion had not gotten in the way. One should point out that Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan have tried this path to the modern state, and they ended up with fascism. Russia tried this path and the State collapsed so badly that only Lenin's Bolsheviks could pick up the pieces. If we are to praise this neo-Burkean vision of the Revolution, we should remember that shortly after Burke's own death 50,000 Irish would be slaughtered by the forces of Order, leaving a legacy of rancid sectarianism for future centuries.
Rating:
Summary: Tres Bien
Review: This is the best history book I've read. No writer I know of has been able to be so comprehensive and narratively gripping at once. Simon Schama's expertise in art is most welcome here, as the book is generously filled with illustrations of key paintings of the time. His masterful prose deftly weaves together the entire culture of France in the late 18th century--never losing sight of the political drama, and amazingly (considering the scope of the work) the individuals that made up the revolution that ushered in the modern era. This book is meaty enough to satisfy the specialist, who is bound to find new insight into a well-worn topic, as well as the general reader--who is in for a gripping, absorbing read as satisfying as any novel. This is a work of art, and it gives us an entire world in its treatment of a pivotal moment in history. Simply excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent updated history of the French Revolution
Review: This is the definite volume for students of the French Revolution. Schama is not afraid to take on some of the earlier historians and lambaste them for their obvious condoning of some of the most horrific violence of this extremely bloody time. Schama lets the facts simply speak for themselves and involves the reader to make up his or her own mind about who the true villains were. The chapters devoted to the incarceration of the Royal Family are quite moving and the downfall of Robespierre and his followers is presented in detail. Readers shouldn't be intimidated by the length of this book. There are very few dull moments in this volatile era and any history student will be thoroughly fascinated.
Rating: 
Summary: terrific read
Review: This massive, exhaustively researched history reads more like a novel than an academic text. Schama has turned to the good old-fashioned style of narrative history in the tradition of Carlyle and has made his chronicle more than readable by the layperson. I have only a few minor quibbles with this tour de force: Schama does make some minor errors of fact (errors which should have been caught by a copy editor, such as making not one but two mistakes over the age of one of the players); and he spends so many pages in exploring prerevolutionary France (over a third of the book!) that the crucial years 1793-94, in the final fourth of the book, seem to get short shrift. My guess is that Schama intended to spend more time with the Terror but was rushed to press by his publisher, who wanted to get the book in print in time for the July 1989 bicentennial. Quibbles aside, a breathtaking and splendidly written history of the French Revolution.
Rating:
Summary: A remarkable, life-changing read
Review: This monumental book attempts to chronicle the French Revolution from its inception to the end of the Reign of Terror in 1794, using a slightly different style than most conventional histories. In the preface, Schama notes that studies of personalities have largely been replaced by studies of grain supplies, indicating a pattern to seek explanations for historical events and trends in obscure economic factors, rather than in the personalities of the leading figures involved. This Schama is determined to fight against, and he resurrects the nineteenth-century chronicle, with its emphasis on people, high and low. The first section is largely concerned with the Old Régime, which the author reveals a dynamic and rapidly changing society, where the pace of change was indeed too fast instead of too slow, as the popular perception goes. He meticulously shows the rise of revolutionary and nationalist culture, as well as of a new economic order, and the incapacity of Louis XVI and his governments to deal with the new realities. The accounts of the demise of the Old Regime and the beginnings of Revolution are extremely detailed, but also move at a fast pace, with numerous stories of the participants interspersed in the narrative. Schama's use of primary sources is exhaustive, and sometimes even tends to be overwhelming, but the overall effect is an impressive display of historical writing at its finest. But it is in relating the power struggles within the National Assembly and the Convention that Schama truly shines. We hear the strident rhetoric of the Brissotins and later the Jacobins, calling for the bloody consummation of the Revolution. We are at the side of the major players as they are elbowed aside, which often means assassination or execution. We are taken to the provinces, where the Vendéan revolt and the subsequent massacres of thousands by the revolutionary authorities provide horrifying preludes of twentieth century violence and genocide. Indeed the most striking aspect of the book is just how much the forces of totalitarianism in our time owe to their Jacobin predecessors. The speeches of Saint-Just and Marat could have just as easily been uttered by Lenin. The vast outdoor pageants and revolutionary festivals conceived by Jacques-Louis David could measure up considerably well to Albert Speer's monstrous but impeccably designed rallies for Hitler. Schama pulls off an astounding effect, for as the reader progresses in the story, the revolutionary fervor almost creeps out of the page, and one feels the all-encompassing madness. The ending of the book is bleak, showing a disturbing lithograph of Robespierre decapitating the last executioner amidst a forest of guillotines and in the shadow of a giant chimney of cremation bearing the inscription "Here lies all of France." The Terroristes' own pathetic endings provide no closure, merely a bitter aftertaste of disgust.
Schama's contentions are well-reasoned and he succeeds magnificently in exposing both the workings and the soul of the Revolution. His view is a bit too complex to encapsulate in a few words, but it largely centers on the idea that violence was not just another "aspect" of the Revolution, but was always a crucial part of it. The two were effectively inseparable. The roots of this violence were to be found in the patriotic culture and in the enormous influence exercised by Romanticism and especially by the writings of Rousseau, wherefrom came the notions of patriotic sacrifice and patriotic death. Schama claims, with considerable credibility, that the Revolution did not achieve any of the significant reformist objectives of 1789 (indeed, the Jacobins were almost immediately forced to impose economic paternalism), and worse, it inaugurated an era when violence determined the direction of the state more than anything else. What the Revolution did create was "a military-technocratic state of immense power and emotional solidarity," but "its other principal invention had been a political culture that perennially and directly challenged it." The meaning of the entire book, and indeed of the Revolution itself, is summarized next: "Suddenly, subjects were told they had become Citizens...Before the promise of 1789 could be realized, it was necessary to root out Uncitizens." Citizens is a remarkable book, a life-changing read that will reveal mankind at its darkest but also at its most complicated, and that will fiercely bring to life one of the most momentous events in history.
Rating:
Summary: Superb within its scope
Review: What a challenge it must be to engage a subject as complex as the French Revolution. In inimitable style, Shama tackles the subject lucidly and well. There are certain aspects of "Citzens" that are immediately apparent: First, the book is big -- 875 pages (in paperback) of good-sized pages. Second, from the introduction on, it is transparent that Schama has a gift with words. The man can write. Other aspect of "Citizens" are also commendable. Schama will bring his viewpoint in for an individual closeup or a series of compelling anecdotes and then pan back to more general context and analysis. In doing so, he strikes a balance between those works that provide drier explanations of events and those that focus solely upon dramatic vignettes and lose the context within which they transpired. His lead-in is particularly valuable. He spends many pages demonstrating how changes in France were inherent in the years before 1789; the Bastille falls only half-way through the volume. Also remarkable is Shama's integration of illustrations and commentary upon them. "Citizens" is, in significant part, art history as well as social, political, and economic history. Still there are criticisms to be made. Some well-known figures such as Danton and Mme. Roland are but bit players in his narrative. Furthermore, because the book ends with "9 Thermidor" in mid-1794, there are some five years of the Directory that do not come within the scope of this volume. Schama's analysis is self-consciously revisionist. His overarching theme is that the Revolution was steeped in violence and that control of the means of coercion lay at the foundation of every political challenge. He argues his points compellingly. Apart from the tinge of frustration that may come with its seeming incompleteness, "Citizens" is a rich read and a solid addition to any set of volumes that address the turbulent, fascinating, complex, and ghastly epoch known as the French Revolution.
Rating:
Summary: Superb within its scope
Review: What a challenge it must be to engage a subject as complex as the French Revolution. In inimitable style, Shama tackles the subject lucidly and well. There are certain aspects of "Citzens" that are immediately apparent: First, the book is big -- 875 pages (in paperback) of good-sized pages. Second, from the introduction on, it is transparent that Schama has a gift with words. The man can write. Other aspect of "Citizens" are also commendable. Schama will bring his viewpoint in for an individual closeup or a series of compelling anecdotes and then pan back to more general context and analysis. In doing so, he strikes a balance between those works that provide drier explanations of events and those that focus solely upon dramatic vignettes and lose the context within which they transpired. His lead-in is particularly valuable. He spends many pages demonstrating how changes in France were inherent in the years before 1789; the Bastille falls only half-way through the volume. Also remarkable is Shama's integration of illustrations and commentary upon them. "Citizens" is, in significant part, art history as well as social, political, and economic history. Still there are criticisms to be made. Some well-known figures such as Danton and Mme. Roland are but bit players in his narrative. Furthermore, because the book ends with "9 Thermidor" in mid-1794, there are some five years of the Directory that do not come within the scope of this volume. Schama's analysis is self-consciously revisionist. His overarching theme is that the Revolution was steeped in violence and that control of the means of coercion lay at the foundation of every political challenge. He argues his points compellingly. Apart from the tinge of frustration that may come with its seeming incompleteness, "Citizens" is a rich read and a solid addition to any set of volumes that address the turbulent, fascinating, complex, and ghastly epoch known as the French Revolution.
Rating:
Summary: Superb within its scope
Review: What a challenge it must be to engage a subject as complex as the French Revolution. In inimitable style, Shama tackles the subject lucidly and well. There are certain aspects of "Citzens" that are immediately apparent: First, the book is big -- 875 pages (in paperback) of good-sized pages. Second, from the introduction on, it is transparent that Schama has a gift with words. The man can write. Other aspect of "Citizens" are also commendable. Schama will bring his viewpoint in for an individual closeup or a series of compelling anecdotes and then pan back to more general context and analysis. In doing so, he strikes a balance between those works that provide drier explanations of events and those that focus solely upon dramatic vignettes and lose the context within which they transpired. His lead-in is particularly valuable. He spends many pages demonstrating how changes in France were inherent in the years before 1789; the Bastille falls only half-way through the volume. Also remarkable is Shama's integration of illustrations and commentary upon them. "Citizens" is, in significant part, art history as well as social, political, and economic history. Still there are criticisms to be made. Some well-known figures such as Danton and Mme. Roland are but bit players in his narrative. Furthermore, because the book ends with "9 Thermidor" in mid-1794, there are some five years of the Directory that do not come within the scope of this volume. Schama's analysis is self-consciously revisionist. His overarching theme is that the Revolution was steeped in violence and that control of the means of coercion lay at the foundation of every political challenge. He argues his points compellingly. Apart from the tinge of frustration that may come with its seeming incompleteness, "Citizens" is a rich read and a solid addition to any set of volumes that address the turbulent, fascinating, complex, and ghastly epoch known as the French Revolution.
Rating:
Summary: A fine treatment of the French Revolution
Review: With deft handling of symbolism in both high art and popular culture and with a refreshing emphasis on individuals rather than impersonal forces, Schama portrays the French Revolution as an ultimate tragedy for all classes. The author emphasizes both that ideas have consequences and that the Revolution was as much a product of continuity as of change. Citizens provides a realistic, rather than a romantic, view of the French Revolution but one written with verve and style.
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