Janelle C. (jscrappy) reviewed The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 (P.S.) on + 59 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Although not as succinct or as successful as Winik's book April 1865, this is still a tremendously interesting account of the revolutionary era of the late 1700s and its impact on the countries of Russia, France, and the fledgling United States. Winik draws parallels between the three countries, and explores the reasons that revolution was ultimately successful in the United States.
To me, the most pleasing part of the book was the cast of characters...Winik is eager to present larger-than-life figures like Catherine the Great, George Washington, Napoleon, King Louis VI, Alexander Hamilton, Potemkin, Robespierre, and Thomas Jefferson (to name a few) and to marvel with the reader at the array of charismatic and talented people that shaped the world in that time.
The book also provides a good overview of the French Revolution, which can be a complicated topic to learn about, and of the tense, conflicted early years of the U.S. Russia's role in the story seems a little more forced, a bit of a stretch on the author's part. It's worth it, though, for the compelling story of Catherine the Great and the modernization of Russia.
To me, the most pleasing part of the book was the cast of characters...Winik is eager to present larger-than-life figures like Catherine the Great, George Washington, Napoleon, King Louis VI, Alexander Hamilton, Potemkin, Robespierre, and Thomas Jefferson (to name a few) and to marvel with the reader at the array of charismatic and talented people that shaped the world in that time.
The book also provides a good overview of the French Revolution, which can be a complicated topic to learn about, and of the tense, conflicted early years of the U.S. Russia's role in the story seems a little more forced, a bit of a stretch on the author's part. It's worth it, though, for the compelling story of Catherine the Great and the modernization of Russia.
