Revolutions: How They Changed History and What They Mean Today

Revolutions hold a distinct place in the popular imagination. This may be because their rhetoric, such as `liberty, fraternity, equality', articulates aspirations with which we identify; or because we are shocked by the destructive forces unleashed when social conventions break down. Yet each revolution is unique - a product of its time, its society, its people - and the outcomes vary dramatically, from liberal reform to cruel dictatorship.

Twenty-four leading historians, each writing about ...