The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations

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A Librarie's Best Kept Secret

The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations
Frank A. Kafker
Manufacturer: Krieger Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Revolution | France | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0894642472

Book Description

This anthology is organized around conflicting interpretations of eleven of the most important issues and events of the French Revolution. The editors have included interpretations by noted contemporary and earlier historians, and no one view or school of revolutionary studies is stressed. For the fifth edition, the chronological summary, the biographical profiles of historians, and the introduction to the problems have been extensively revised, and the book has been enlarged by the addition of chapters on women during the Revolution and on the Revolutionary legacy. Selections by T. C. W. Blanning, William Doyle, François Furet, Olwen H. Hufton, Gary Kates, Darline Gay Levy with Hariet Branson Applewhite, Laura Mason, Timothy N. Tackett, and David Gordon Wright have been added as well as the text in French and an English translation of the "Marseillaise."

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A Librarie's Best Kept Secret.......2001-08-07

This was not the best book I have ever read,but it was one of those surprise books that jump out at you on the bookshelf as an interesting I cannot put it down read. It was insightful and interesting as well as enjoyable and I would recommend this book to basically anyone young or old. Kudos.

The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations

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The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations
Frank A. Kafker and James M. Laux
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K0CX4Q

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The French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations

Manufacturer: Random House,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FMKQ98

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The French Revolution: Conflicting interpretations

Manufacturer: Krieger
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Second Edition.

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French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Second Edition.
Frank Kafker
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UY0JTI

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French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Second Edition.
Frank Kafker
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VK2OU8

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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. Conflicting Interpretations.
Frank A. and Laux, James M. (eds.): Kafker
Manufacturer: Pan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W2XTZY

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French Revolution: Conflicting Interpretations. Second Edition.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IC9E1G

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I wonder if its complete.......2006-12-26

Both the German & the Dutch version of this work are much longer and stretch about 850 pages. This one is only 600 pages long, so I wonder where the other 250 are.

Apart from that its one of the most important books I think there ever have been published by any Sociologist. On of the few that really stands on par with Weber, Durkheim & Habermas (if you concider him as a sociologist).

I really want to read the rest also.

Impression of Norbert Elias' Civilizing Process.......2006-03-28

The work is a marvel of creative scholarship. Its organization and style unsurpassed. I would recommend it to anybody interested in the evolution of society and cultural history.

night and day.......2006-03-09

I first ordered this from an independent thru Amazon and got nothing and lies, then reordered thru Amazon and got it immediately, exactly like I always do from Amazon proper.

Know Thyself.......2003-01-10

We live our everyday lives shrouded in monotony, going about our business as if our existence was the most natural and unquestionable one, yet what our souls call "home" has actually been created in an extremely complex and all-encompassing process sometimes called Civilization.

In this very ambitious book, Norbert Elias examines both how our consciousness has been transformed by society, and how society itself has progressed as a result; that is, what mechanisms have propelled the transformation of our Western civilization from a violent and unrepressed, autarkic existence, to our infinitely interdependent, specialized and pacified modern nation-states.

By way of detailed analysis of historical documents, the author lets us explore how inter-personal relations have been transformed through the course of Western history, how our manners and behavior have been modelled by a changing environment, and in turn modified it, as illustrated by the most diverse situations like table manners, attitudes toward those of an inferior social standing, hygiene, and sexuality.

It is like glancing at our collective youth, oddly familiar and intimate, yet repulsive.

Elias then meticulously articulates by what forces feudalism eventually gave rise to ever more centralized and interdependent forms of government, and the corresponding specific changes in human behavior and attitudes, that are the cause, as much as the consequence, of such changes.

A couple of interesting ideas in this book specially relevant to current debate: how society's transformation isn't the design of anyone or a "conspiration" of sorts, but a process that obeys its own laws; how our form of government is very deeply dependent on all classes and peoples, thus enjoying very little freedom for gratuitous action; and how war isn't necessarily the opposite of peace, but the opportunity for ever larger zones of pacification to emerge.

All good lessons to re-learn today, specially by the Left, with its visions of evil conspiracies and its stubborn insistence on perpetuating strife and conflict by opposing lasting resolution by means of war.

Warriors Into Functionaries: Tamed Nobility & the State.......2001-10-24

Norbert Elais' The Civilizing Process is an explanation of the rise of the modern nation-state, and the process by which state formation engendered changes in the psyches and day-to-day manners of modern citizens. In short, his argument is that the functional complexity of post-medieval Europe went hand-in-hand with a sublimation of man's baser instincts. Upon first glance, the reader immediately wonders about the relevance of findings such as "in medieval society people generally blew their noses into their hands" (126). The dominant explanations for the rise of the modern nation-state have usually been based in economics (Marx, Polanyi, Moore, North & Thomas) and not in the sort of etiquette, manners and social customs that are the key operating concepts in Elias' work. However, Elias makes a convincing case that such customs deserve predominant explanatory weight, being vehicles of social control that lay the psychological groundwork for the nation-state. Such a finding helps political scientists answer the persistent question of why Western political institutions fail when placed into unfamiliar Third-World social environments. Most analysts have chalked this up to unequal economic development, but Elias would probably favor an argument emphasizing the lack of a "civilizing" process in Third-World societies. Such an explanation--like Putnam's reasoning in revealing Southern Italy's "civic culture" to be bankrupt--is admittedly open to criticism of essentialism, cultural determinism, and other postmodern shortcomings, but at a minimum, it certainly alerts us to pertinent, non-economic variables at work in the development-democracy relationship.

Elias selects three comparative cases, France, England and Germany, and performs a content analysis of medieval texts on manners, etiquette, and the transformation of the nobility from warriors into courtiers. These texts are the empirical evidence offered for his key variable, pan-European courtly manners delineated by social structure (classes and "monopolies" of power). The other key variable (it's rather unclear which one is "dependent" on the other) is the rise of the nation-state, which was brought about by an exogenous variable (population growth) as well as two intervening factors: 1) the decline of the nobility relative to national absolutism (both economically and militarily); and 2) the rise of a money economy. Elias shows how centrifugal forces in these societies (mainly the warrior-noble class) resisted the "integration" of absolutism/nationhood, but that these forces in the end were overcome by economics coupled with the centripetal social groundwork of pan-European "civilite" and social customs, leading to an increasingly complex interweaving of social functions. "Society was `in transition' . . . `Simplicity' . . . had been lost. People saw things with more differentiation" (61). "Social control was becoming more binding . . . with the structural transformation of society . . . a change slowly came about: the compulsion to check one's own behaviour" (70).

The near totality of Elias' evidence is qualitative, often selected from medieval writings and secondhand observations. Although he means to proceed inductively from these facts, Elias often reads like a deductive historian, especially when positing lawlike generalizations such as "the more or less sudden emergence of words within languages nearly always points to changes in the lives of people themselves, particularly when the new concepts are destined to become as central and long-lived as these" (48). In fact, his entire thesis can be summarized with another of his apparently deductive axioms: "The growth of units of integration and rule is always at the same time an expression of structural changes in society, that is to say, in human relationships" (254). Marxists, of course, would say that such social changes are themselves dependent upon changes in the relations of production, but Elias gives equal weight to social causes as to economic ones. The economy is by no means neglected in his analysis, since he gives currency, demand for property, and population growth prime explanatory roles in his causal process (despite the fact that there is no quantitative evidence given for these socioeconomic correlations, unlike the analysis of the same topics by North & Thomas). However, Marxists would surely have a fit over Elias' assertion that the civilizing process leads to a wholesale leveling of distinctions between social classes (430), as well as his claim that the modern state arose out of a virtual stalemate between the bourgeois and the nobility (327).

On the topic of state-society relations, Elias makes the provocative argument that for the past 300 years, "monopoly rulers" (including, but not limited to, absolutist kings) are mere functionaries, with the real power resting in the hands of their "subjects" (271). "Control of the centralized institutions themselves is so dispersed that it is difficult to discern clearly who are the rulers and who are the ruled" (315). Of course, under an instable balance of power (including today's Third World) the playing field is presumably up for grabs between different classes and parts of the state, but in a developed society, Elias would argue that the internalization of "civilized" norms means that the "strong" state, while resting on a cohesive social order, is not as autonomous from social forces as one might think.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

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A splendid legacy of 20th century mathematics

The Beauty of Geometry: Twelve Essays
H. S. M. Coxeter
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Mathematics | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0486409198

Book Description

These absorbing essays by a distinguished mathematician provide a compelling demonstration of the charms of mathematics. Stimulating and thought-provoking, this collection is sure to interest students, mathematicians and any math buff with its lucid treatment of geometry and the crucial role geometry plays in a wide range of mathematical applications.

Customer Reviews:

A splendid legacy of 20th century mathematics.......2001-04-11

This book collects 12 articles by Coxeter, already published in various mathematics technical journal but would be quite tedious to collect for one's pleasure. Each explains fascinating connections between exceptional discrete groups, polyhedra, graphs, sphere packings, projective spaces. All carry the particular favour of HSM Coxeter mathematics with his love of polyhedra and of their geometry. Starting points are often elementary but conclusions and connections are worthwile aven for today mathematics. I recommend it for graduates in mathematics, especially those interested in group theory, discrete/finite geometry, non-euclidean geometry as a very inspiring book giving a sense of unity in those parts of mathematics.

Book Description

Global warming, ozone depletion, drought, acid rain--their causes are viewed as extraordinarily complex; their effects are assumed catastrophic. Exploring Environmental Issues provides a key to understanding our potential crisis. The concise, introductory text presents a review of current environmental issues using a geographical approach that stresses the interrelationships between environment and societies.
This user-friendly volume is an essential book for students and all who are concerned with the nature of contemporary environmental issues. Information is presented in a refreshing manner utilizing over 170 figures and 50 photographs. Global boxed case studies are used throughout to highlight and explore issues in more detail. The text also contains discussion points, annotated further reading, and an extensive glossary.

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