Donald Sassoon, "Revolutions: A New History" (Verso Books, 2025)

About this episode

Donald Sassoon discusses his book 'Revolutions: A New History', exploring the long-term impacts and complexities of historical revolutions.

Revolutions: A New History (Verso Books, 2025) is a sparkling account of political upheaval and the power of history. We think of revolutions in terms of fleeting events, such as the fall of the Bastille or the storming of the Winter Palace. In reality, they take decades to burn out, if they ever do.Historian Donald Sassoon takes the long view of some of the most famous upheavals: the English Civil War, the American War of Independence, the national uprisings that unified Italy and Germany, and the French, Russian and Chinese revolutions. This is a history rich in irony and surprises. As Sassoon shows in this tour de force account, revolutions usually catch revolutionaries themselves by surprise, and the consequences are difficult to fathom at any remove. Revolutions will change how you think about the transformative moments in history, both big and small. Revolutions is a sparkling account of political upheaval and the power of history. We think of revolutions in terms of fleeting events, such as the fall of the Bastille or the storming of the Winter Palace. In reality, they take decades to burn out, if they ever do.Historian Donald Sassoon takes the long view of some of the…

People in this episode

Guest: Donald Sassoon

Topics covered

• political upheaval
• history
• revolutions
• historical analysis
• long view of history

Keywords

• revolutions
• history
• political upheaval
• historical events
• long view

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Verso Books

Books & works: Revolutions: A New History

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