About this title: Tracing the gradual evolution of revolutions, Arendt predicts the changing relationship between war and revolution and the crucial role such combustive movements will play in the future of international relations. She looks at the principles which underlie all revolutions, starting with the first great examples in America and France, and showing how both the theory and practice of revolution have since developed. Finally, she foresees the changing relationship between war and revolution and the crucial changes in international relations, with revolution becoming the key tactic.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Viking Press
Date Published: 1967
Description: Very Good. Very good softcover. Pages are clean, crisp and unmarked. Covers show some edgewear. Previous owner's name on half title page.; 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Free Delivery Confirmation! Ships same or next business day! read more
Binding: Trade pb
Publisher: Viking Press, New York
Date Published: [1963], 1965
Description: Very Good. No dust jacket. Highlighting/Underlining. Smudges on pages' edge and fair amount of underlining. Later printing. Illustrated by. 343 p. ; 22 cm. Includes bibliography. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1956
ISBN-13:9780670001668ISBN:067000166X
Description: As New. In very good, clean and crisp condition showing little wear. Arendt examines three classic revolutions of modern times, The American, The French and the Russian, providing insights into history and politics in practice and theory. read more
Description: Like New. Penguin, TPB, 1990 reprint edition, 5th printing. Appears never read, clean, tight binding, no markings or highlighting, minimal shelf wear. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Press, New York
Date Published: 1963
Description: Good. No dust jacket. Notes & underlining on 1st 150 pgs, nothing after that, 2 corners bumped, staining on cover, owner's name & number on ffep. 343 p.; 22 cm. Includes bibliography. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: The Viking Press, N.Y.
Date Published: 1970
Description: Good. Ex-Library. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" Tall. 9 th printing. "With nuclear power at a stalemate, revolutions have become the principal political factor of our time. to understand them mean to understand the futur. " read more
Description: Paperback. Small octavo.344 pages. Good. Pages clean, tight. Cover rubbed. Several creases in front cover along spine. With nuclear power at a stalemate, revolutions have become the principal political factor of our time. Examines three classic revolutions: American, French, and Russian. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 2006-09-26
ISBN-13:9780143039907ISBN:0143039903
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780143039907. read more
Edition: Third Printing
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Viking Press, New York, N. Y
Date Published: 1963
Description: Very Good For Age in Near Very Good Clipped jacket. 8 1/2 X 5 3/4. Pages are tight, bright & clean. Jacket in a crystal-clear polyester protector sleeve. Binding firm and straight, dark topstain. Boards, spine, edges and corners good+. 343 pages, bibliography & indexed. If needed for reference, research, analysis, dissertation, lucubrations or just enjoyment this is the one. read more
"As difficult as The Human Condition, but takes longer to pick up steam. Luckily though, Arendt keeps the momentum building until the end, starting around Chapter 3. Overall, Arendt spends too long discussing abstract philosophical ideas and linguistic origins, and not enough time discussing the practical distinctions among revolutions, and what makes them work or fail. When she does this, the book becomes much more interesting, although any enjoyment is still hampered by the almost unbearably long sentences, each filled with as many as five different ideas punctuated by hyphens, colons, commas and parentheses. Some sentences take several re-readings just to wrap your mind around everything she is trying to say. It is obvious the woman is brilliant (I've already used adjectives like "astounding" and "staggering" to describe her intellect in other reviews), but it's equally obvious that she either doesn't give much of a darn about bringing her ideas to a wider (read: "stupider") audience, or she's just not capable of adopting a more accessible writing style. I'm tempted to cite the former, just because Eichmann in Jerusalem did not suffer from the same shortcoming.
As far as content, I can only give a partial rundown, since the entire book is so dense. Her discussion of the differences between the American and French Revolutions was illuminating and persuasive. She posits that the success of a revolution depends on 1) it being free of the misery surrounding an impoverished populace 2) its success in finding a sufficient authority to replace the deposed one. America got lucky, starting from scratch, and the success of their and any revolution was dependent upon a foundation -- in the American case, the foundation of a constitution and new form of government, which is something the French and most subsequent revolutions failed to do. At the same time, The American revolution dwindled and the "revolutionary spirit" eventually died away because the founders did not do enough to protect it when enshrining the Constitution. She says they could have done this by protecting the political rights and freedom of the townships and town meetings. These small groups or "councils," she claims, are vital aspects that spring organically from any revolutionary movement and are the only outlet for true political expression by the common citizen. They therefore must be nurtured in a symbiotic relationship with the state if freedom is to be preserved.
The conclusion is particularly impressive, when she actually suggests a return to a Greekish/Romanesque political system in which not everyone votes, only those who are sufficiently interested in the political process. This government would be inherently both self-chosen and self-including. In this way, people not concerned with their public freedom are not forced to participate and can instead focus on their private lives, while people to whom politics does indeed matter will never be excluded from political decisions (as they inevitably are in our current representative system). I honestly don't know enough about political or revolutionary theory to agree or disagree with her authoritatively, but I can say at least that her arguments are persuasive, and even intuitive despite their complexity.
The ideas here are essential, but the packaging is unfortunately rather repellant. I would not recommend starting your exposure to Arendt with this book. Probably better to start with the far easier Eichmann, and then move onto the more important Human Condition. But this one is important nonetheless, especially for anyone interested in political theory or the concept of freedom."
"This is the most breathtaking comparative analysis of the American and French revolutions. Not only is she a competent historian, but her ability to extrapolate and make sense of how we currently conceive of the idea "revolution" makes Arendt's insight invaluable. If you have time for only one chapter, I strongly recommend "The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Treasure.""
"It is a must read for all Leftist, and especially Anarchists. I am so happy I read this. I need to read more by her. It gives so much more depth to thoughts I've already thought. Way more depth. It also sheds light on organizations and I found it interesting to apply the ideas to the establishing of authority and community ethics at Apro. It is making me think politically in a new way, and I'm grateful to have read this in South Africa right around election time 15 years post-liberation."
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