Eric Hobsbawm

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The Age of Revolution 1789-1848

Category: History | Published: 1962 | Review Added: 14-09-2010

It's a long time since I read this book, so I can only convey my general impression of it, rather than analysis of its details. As usual, Hobsbawm's Marxism skews somewhat his take on events, but his panoramic understanding of the forces of history easily outweighs this limitation.

I didn't find this book quite as readable as the later Age of Capital. The flow of the narrative is not quite as compelling, partly because Hobsbawm had yet to hone his writing style, and partly because of the extensive use of endnotes - certainly necessary in an academic text, but an irritant in a book aimed at the general readership. Still, a good read.

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