The Revolutionary Era, 1789-1850 (The Norton History of Modern Europe)

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(5 stars) - pricey, but very nice introduction
I'm currently trying to read through the "Norton History of Modern Europe" series, and this is the third I've read (and reviewed for amazon). This one, like the others, was an excellent introduction, summarily covering political history as well as cultural and social history. I think the series as a whole, including this book, is a little weak on intellectual history--although that is my strength, so my judgment might be distorted.

This book covers the French Revolution, the era of Napoleon, the industrial revolution, the revolution of 1830, the revolutions of 1848, and the romantic movement. That's a lot of ground in such a brief book, but Breunig and Levinger move through it quickly and concisely.

Among the other books in this series, "The Age of Religious Wars" by Richard S. Dunn and "The Foundations of Early Modern Europe" by Eugene F. Rice, Jr., were excellent, but I skipped Leonard Krieger's "Kings and Philosophers" because the writing nearly killed me. (I've started Norman Rich's "Tradition and Progress," and so far it's excellent, maybe the best of the series.) Each of the 3 books I've read stands well on its own.

HOWEVER--even though I think reading the whole series forms a very good project for anyone interested enough to do it--for about the same cash, John P. McKay's textbook, "A History of Western Society: Since 1300," is much better for students, and even for adult readers I actually recommend it above this series. Boorstin's trilogy beginning with "The Discoverers" emphasizes intellectual history, and is a great pleasure to read; I strongly recommend checking it out. Finally, I haven't read the classic histories by Eric Hobsbawm, but they probably make stimulating reading, even for people already rather familiar with modern history.

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