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. One of our great historians, Donald Sassoon, takes the long view of some of the most celebrated upheavals: the English Civil War, which killed a king; the American War of Independence, which ejected the British but allowed slavery to persist; the French Revolution, which produced the Rights of Man and years of instability; the national revolutions that unified Italy and Germany; and the Russian and Chinese revolutions, which transformed the twentieth century. Revolutions adroitly compares these historical juggernauts to the many rebellions, coups and tumults that time forgot.It is a history rich in irony and surprises. ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ was first sung by English troopers to make fun of dishevelled American colonials. The Long March of retreating Chinese Communists assumed a mythical dimension on a par with Washington crossing the Delaware. As Sassoon shows in this tour de force account, revolutions usually catch revolutionaries them-selves by surprise, and the consequences are difficult to fathom.Revolutions will change how you think about the transformative moments in history, both big and small."Unique and encyclopaedic…a monument to streetwise and cosmopolitan scholarship." Guardian (for The Culture of the Europeans)"Sometimes playful, sometimes caustic, but always to the point. The doyen of comparative historians." Ferdinand Mount, Times Literary Supplement (for The Anxious Triumph) What People Are Saying "A big book on a big idea. Sassoon is able to work on a grand scale, and he’s not afraid to take big swings with his analysis. He also has an excellent eye for sparkling anecdotes and character sketches." Lit Hub Most Anticipated Books of 2025 "The most important book written about revolutions in years. Laconic but richly detailed." Colin Crouch, author of Post-Democracy This is thrilling history. Sassoon examines some of the most important revolutions of the modern era and argues for their importance in understanding the shaping of our own times." Rana Mitter, author of China’s Good War A historian’s cannonball. Sassoon has always been a superbly internationalist scholar. Revolutions takes him beyond Europe to fascinating accounts of 1770s America and twentieth-century China. Sassoon’s conclusion: problems build up and then, “at an unforeseeable moment, fate strikes”. And up go the barricades." Neal Ascherson, author of The Death of the Fronsac
