From the 1760s to the 1820s, several long, tumultuous decades, revolutions erupted across the world from North America to Haiti. Revolutionaries dismantled established hierarchies and razed empires to the ground, overthrew kings, and commenced devastating wars. They created a new world; however, the powerful engines of revolution spawned new forms of inequality. The long life of John Adams began in one world and ended in another. In 1737, when he was born, Europe and a significant part of the American continent were ruled by a handful of kings. Adams grew up in a world of empires, where rulers were separated from those they governed. By the time of his death, almost everywhere on both sides of the Atlantic, this old regime was swept away by a series of revolutions—the American, French, and Haitian revolutions, the Spanish-American independence movements, and many smaller uprisings. In the new world, republican forms of governance and individual rights came to the forefront (although equality was hardly discussed everywhere). The republics varied, but contemporaries still saw some unity in their diversity. Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, George Washington, and other founding fathers of the United States, Robespierre and Madre Maria, a noble abbess in Peru, Napoleon and Toussaint Louverture, a former slave and leader of the Haitian revolution—through the kaleidoscope of their remarkable lives, historian Nathan Perl-Rosenthal narrates the story of famous revolutions and failed uprisings. The author creates a true revolutionary epic, encompassing many destinies, countries, and peoples. The book combines the depth of popular science literature with the intrigue of historical epic, offering the reader a panoramic view of the key events that shaped the modern world, including the fall of Robespierre. This illustrated historical book will be a gift for lovers of non-fiction who seek to understand the essence of history, politics, economics, and geopolitics, as well as for anyone captivated by world history, the history of Europe, and the history of America.
