Claude Manceron (1923–1999)

Manceron continues in the style he laid out with the first volume: chronological vignettes describing the years leading up to the French Revolution through the lives and personalities of the major and minor players. Vol. II introduces revolutionaries from across the Atlantic. Manceron's quirky approach to writing (and a failed promise to keep his own opinions to himself) can alienate the reader quickly -- I found myself compelled to keep reading just to see if his editor would ever rein in show more Manceron's ramblings (s/he never did). If you are looking for insights or interpretations to the period, this is not the place to start. That is not to say The Men of Liberty is without value -- it was a good idea never reaching its full promise. show less

1034 Austerlitz: The Story of a Battle, by Claude Manceron translated by George Unwin (read 25 Nov 1969) I greatly enjoyed reading this book. I found myself wholeheartedly for Napoleon! Despite the faults of Napoleon, and the tremendous suffering he caused Europe, one cannot help but be fascinated by him. Dec 2, 1805: Napoleon's army routs Russia and Austria in Moravia. The battle was west of Austerlitz, around and through villages such as Telnitz, Sokolnitz, etc. While this account is show more episodic and not very heavily footnoted, for a popular treatment it was not bad. show less

2354 Twilight of the Old Order 1774-1778, by Claude Manceron translated from the French by Patricia Wolf (read 27 Jan 1991) This is the first volume of the author's "Age of the French Revolution" and covers the years 1774 to 1778. I don't like its arrangement. There are 93 chapters, each on its own topic, and it spends a lot of time telling what Mirabeau was doing during those years and that really isn't too interesting, and ditto Beaumarchais. It also tells a lot about Lafayette and that is show more told from a different perspective. Basically the account is biographical and anecdotal and that is not the kind of history I am used to. Manceron insists Louis XVI had no operation--that Joseph II just gave them (Louis and Marie Antoinette) psychological advice. I do not like Manceron, since he is clearly anti-Catholic and so I doubt I will read the further volumes by him . show less

This was the first volume in a series on the French Rev. (published originally in France as The Men of Liberty) that only lasted until Bk 5 and the destruction of the Bastille. I have never been able to determine if Manceron died or gave up on the project.