Wow, what a book! I just finished reading The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 by Jay Winik. As in all of the Jay Winik books I have read, the other two being April 1865: The Month That Saved America and 1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History, they are dedicated titularly to very narrow periods of history. Of course this it is impossible to avoid straying outside those bounds, but this book is more faithful to the boundaries than the other two. Perhaps this is unfortunate for reasons I'll outline.

The Great Upheaval focuses on the American and French Revolutions and the bloody final days of Catherine the Great, Czarina of Russia. These countries' evolution during this period of time in large part foreshadowed their futures. America at that time was a fragile republic clinging to the Eastern third of the modern United States. France and Russia were, as of 1788 well-established empires on the verge of implosion. What is remarkable is how their changes during this period foreshadow modern eras in these countries, but regretfully the author passes of the opportunity, other than through tantalizing hints, to explore this. In Winik's defense the book was copyrighted in 2007, before Putin had evolved into the modern-day Czar and monster that he is. The book makes glancing references to the fact that even in the early 1790's, as France began its hellish descent into the Terror, people were already talking about moving to America, and some were actually doing it or trying to.

To use an expression attributed to Mark Twain, History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes. This book is a major commitment to read. It was well worthwhile, particularly for a history buff like myself. It did not take me two months to read; I read two other books in between. ( )

First Edition, 2007, Hardback

History that reads as a novel. Taking three focal points, American Revolution, French Revolution and the Russian failed attempt into liberalization, the book weaves together the story lines. The book has a very high BPP, bodies per page, one of highest I've read in awhile. ( )

Reads really quickly, more like a novel than history, and intricately links political and philosophical thinking across America, France, and Russia to make the point that society was global even back then, though communications were slower. Drives home the connections between American and European unrest during this period and the shaping of these nations. ( )

Jay Winik gives adjectives a real workout in this entertaining but hyperbolic account of the events roiling the end of the 18th Century, focused mostly on the French Revolution but also on the American Revolution and the empire building of the Russians. (He doesn't manage to make much of a connection among the three except that (a) these were exciting times all over and (b) the parties concerned were all paying some attention to what was going on elsewhere. Catherine, however, was rather isolated and moreover fixated on the Ottoman Empire and getting a warm water port on the Black Sea. And Winik completely omits the influence of England's Revolution of 1688 - still very much on the minds of her colonists - but presumably unimportant for not having occurred in the twelve years or three countries Winik is covering.)

In long strings of clauses laden with excess verbiage, Winik describes the history of the times by recounting the “unmitigated horror,” the “momentous decisions,” the “dreaded specter,” the “clarion call” -– you get the idea. His clauses sometimes sound like personals ads: “incorrigibly flawed yet ironically suited,” “inspired yet quixotic,” “uncommonly brave yet psychologically frail.”

Triteness is not a barrier to Winik – he has no qualms about describing “golden shores," "quickening pulses," or "words dripping with emotion”; nor about exclaiming that “behind this legend was a man” who was "of fabled status," or “it was a fateful day,” but "it was not to be". Alliteration also has great appeal in his tour of the adjectives: “audaciously assumed,” “terrible toll,” “defiantly demanded,” “frenzied fighting.” But where he waxes most florid in his verbal outpourings is in the tales of war: “ghastly massacre,” “blood flowed like rivers,” “bestial fighting,” “crushing defeat,” “murderous enemy,” “brutally decapitated” (is there a non-brutal decapitation?).

Evaluation: When I wasn’t rolling my eyes, for the most part I was enjoying the stories. A blow-by-blow account of the lead-up to the guillotining of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette may not be among the most important aspects of the French Revolution, but it sure makes for good drama. Likewise, the story of Catherine the Great’s suppression of a peasant revolt amid the complications of her love affair with Grigory Potemkin is quite interesting. So I would, in fact, recommend this book for a diverting romp through an important time for global politics, even though you'll want to keep a few pillows around you to punch while you read. ( )