Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light

What the two great modern revolutions can teach us about democracy today

The American and French revolutions presented the world with two very different visions of democracy. Although both professed similar Enlightenment ideals of freedom, equality, and justice and set similar political agendas, there were also fundamental differences. The French sought a complete break with a thousand years of history; the Americans were content to preserve many aspects of their English heritage. Why did the two revolutions follow such different trajectories? And what lessons do they offer us about democracy today? In lucid narrative style, Dunn captures the personalities and lives of the great figures of both revolutions, and shows how their stories added up to make two very different events.

Author: Susan Dunn
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 09/04/2000
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.7lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.50w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780571199891
Cloth First Pub Edition