The revolutions of 1830, 1848, and 1870 significantly impacted French working classes, spurring their organization and political consciousness. Despite initial betrayals and repression by the bourgeoisie, these uprisings fostered advances in labor rights, living standards, and democratic participation, ultimately leading to a more cohesive and recognized working class by the end of the century.
The translated academic study offers a detailed examination of 19th century French society, highlighting the impact of various revolutions that generally favored the bourgeois elite despite initial lower-class motivations. It discusses industrialization, improved living standards, and regional variations, while recognizing the rich data sometimes overwhelms the narrative. Overall, it remains a valuable read.
View More Review: A Social History of France in the 19th Century – by Christophe Charle
This book examines post-revolutionary France, highlighting the bourgeois’s dominance during various changes of power from 1789 onwards. It explores modernisation, capitalism’s conflict with the left, and rising living standards among the working class. The author skillfully elaborates on complex topics, emphasizing the lower classes’ experiences amid political transformations.
View More Review: France 1815-1914 The Bourgeois Century – by Roger Magraw
This book examines socialism in France, exploring the evolution of the political left from the nineteenth century through detailed chapters. It covers the rise of trade unionism, the SFIO’s ascent, and the decline of socialist power as communists gained influence. The final chapter discusses Mitterand’s 1981 electoral victory and its historical significance.
View More Review: Marxism and the French Left – by Tony Judt
This 1971 book examines syndicalism’s influence on the French Labour movement before World War I. It highlights how syndicalist leaders educated workers on striking for better wages and conditions, leading to increased activism. However, as non-syndicalist unions emerged, syndicalist ideas waned due to improved worker conditions and socioeconomic changes in France.
View More Review: Revolutionary Syndicalism and French Labor: A Cause Without Rebels – by Peter N. Stearns
Leah Gordon, a former punk artist and photographer, chronicles her experiences of Kanaval in Jacmel, Haiti, from 1995 to 2010. Through powerful black and white images and oral histories, she captures the vibrant street theater that blends Vodou and political commentary. The book includes critical essays reflecting on the significance of her work.
View More Review: Kanaval – Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haïti – by Leah Gordon
Elaine Sciolino is a female New York Times journalist who had the good fortune of being present in Paris with the exiled future leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomenei. When he seized power from the Shah in the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Sciolino was one of the first Western journalists on…
View More Review: Persian Mirrors – The Elusive Face of Iran – by Elaine SciolinoSaint Domingue was the Western French-owned side of Hispaniola. French colonists built it up into a wealthy imperial source of plantation economy produce, founded on the settlement of African slaves, products of the Triangular Slave Trade across the Atlantic. The hills and plains were dotted with sugar plantations and vast…
View More Review: Avengers of the New World – The Story of the Haitian Revolution – by Laurent Dubois
This is an excellent introductory text for those wishing to better understand the complex details of the rise of Islamic State, ISIS or ISIL. From its arrival due to the Syrian Civil War and its cancerous spread into post-war Iraq, this extremist-terrorist Sunni Islamic (Wahhabi) nation/fundamentalist organisation, has been indefatigable.…
View More Review: The Rise Of Islamic State – by Patrick Cockburn
The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy by Marifeli Pérez-Stable My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’m doing a university essay question on the Cuban Revolution so felt that this was a good text to read ahead of doing my assignment. The book certainly covers the Cuban Revolution and its…
View More Review: The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy – by Marifeli Pérez-Stable
Romantic Revolutionary: Simon Bolivar and the Struggle for Independence in Latin America by Robert Harvey My rating: 4 of 5 stars Simon Bolivar was one of history’s great characters. His revolutions across South America overthrew Spanish rule in six countries. His empire extended across the continent and was as large…
View More Review: Romantic Revolutionary: Simon Bolivar and the Struggle for Independence in Latin America – by Robert Harvey
Animal Farm by George Orwell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This short book is regarded as one of Orwell’s key classics. It was written at a time when criticism of the USSR in Britain was not encouraged as they were critical wartime allies. Orwell got through the net and…
View More Review: Animal Farm
In February 1958, Che Guevara, a leading revolutionary in Cuba, set up Radio Rebelde, to help the cause of the July 26th movement. Led by Fidel Castro, this movement had been encamped in the hills of east Cuba, the Sierra Maestra, fighting a guerrilla war against the Cuban army forces…
View More Radio Rebelde
Shuffle are always at the cutting edge of house music. Here we have created a new genre ‘Taliban House’. My boss who sidelines in tech warfare is off to Afghanistan on a sortie in a couple of weeks so I thought I’d prepare him for the trip and give him…
View More Wez G – Taliban House (DJ Set 16)
This mix of old and new rekindles the flames of freedom I discovered on the club dancefloors of the late nineties. Lakota, The Hippo Club, Leos, 1 Love @ The Brunel Rooms, The Cross, Miss Moneypennys, Ministry of Sound, Chuff Chuff and all Shuffle events were clubs and venues I…
View More Wez G – Freedom Loving, Fearing Nothing (DJ Set 12)