9780061554384
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The Great Upheaval audiobook

  • By: Jay Winik
  • Narrator: Sam Tsoutsouvas
  • Length: 12 hours 53 minutes
  • Publisher: HarperAudio
  • Publish date: September 11, 2007
  • Language: English
  • (1717 ratings)
(1717 ratings)
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The Great Upheaval Audiobook Summary

It is an era that redefined history. As the 1790s began, a fragile America teetered on the brink of oblivion, Russia towered as a vast imperial power, and France plunged into monumental revolution. But none of these remarkable events occurred in isolation. In The Great Upheaval, acclaimed historian Jay Winik masterfully illuminates how their fates combined in one extraordinary moment to change the course of civilization.

Winik brings his vast, meticulous research and narrative genius to the cold, dark battlefields and deadly clashes of ideologies that defined this age. Here is a savage world war, the toppling of a great dynasty, and an America struggling to survive at home and abroad. Here, too, is the first modern Holy War between Islam and a resurgent Christian empire. And here is the richest cast of characters ever to walk upon the world stage: Washington and Jefferson, Louis XVI and Robespierre, Catherine the Great, Adams, Napoleon, and Selim III. Exquisitely written and utterly compelling, The Great Upheaval vividly depicts an arc of revolutionary fervor stretching from Philadelphia and Paris to St. Petersburg and Cairo–with fateful results. A landmark in historical literature, Winik’s gripping, epic portrait of this tumultuous decade will forever transform the way we see America’s beginnings and our world.

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The Great Upheaval Audiobook Narrator

Sam Tsoutsouvas is the narrator of The Great Upheaval audiobook that was written by Jay Winik

Jay Winik is the author of the New York Times bestseller April 1865. He is a senior scholar of history and public policy at the University of Maryland and a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

About the Author(s) of The Great Upheaval

Jay Winik is the author of The Great Upheaval

The Great Upheaval Full Details

Narrator Sam Tsoutsouvas
Length 12 hours 53 minutes
Author Jay Winik
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date September 11, 2007
ISBN 9780061554384

Additional info

The publisher of the The Great Upheaval is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780061554384.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Kim

September 04, 2017

It's a general misconception even among Americans that we kicked the British out of our country and then things were generally calm until the Civil War. The end of the war was just the start of an ongoing internal conflict that wasn't free of bloodshed and reflected the kind of angry partisanship which, today, we push into social media.Jay Winik focuses on three major areas of the world to illustrate the political and ideological impulses that were changing the world. He begins with the post revolution in the United States, and with the failed Confederation of States that was born toothless and stayed that way through its brief existence. In addition to being a weak federal government the Articles of Confederation set up tax systems that it could not enforce. This was seen in Shay's Rebellion which grew from a protest meant to stop tax collectors from doing their job into an attempt to seize the government of Massachusetts. A call to revise the Articles turned into a series of secret meetings, even to the Congress of Confederation, that hammered out the Constitution in a room where the windows were shut and blackened to avoid reporters and others from overhearing any part of the debates. The US government narrowly missed a hundred different changes that might have completely altered history.The Constitution wasn't immediately adored, and further tax revolts appeared and were quashed by a stronger federal government that was able to outgun the Whiskey Rebellion and other attempts to fight the newer threat of a stronger unified government. Unlike the atmosphere later in France, leaders of the American counter-revolutions were given death sentences but most were commuted.The second area is France, turning from a relatively calm and hopeful rebellion, and a successful push to have Louis XVI concede freedoms (an end to serfdom and freedom of political opinion) into one of the most horrifying bloodbaths in history. From that blossomed the rise of Napoleon and the wars to spread the revolution into Italy, Germany, and Austria. The third sphere is Russia under Catherine the Great. A foreign queen whose husband had been murdered she took the Russian throne in a hopeful atmosphere. An enlightened queen she adored Voltaire. She also bought the library of the aging Diderot (creator of the French encyclopedia) and then provided him with a stipend so that he could maintain it until his death. After seeing the destruction in Paris, however, she decided that a strong monarchy was the only way to manage a country as large and diverse as Russia. She annexed Poland and began a campaign to gain free access to the Black Sea and attacked Turkish Istanbul to allow further access to the Mediterranean.Warnik profiles a surprisingly broad number of heroes and villains in this work. The penultimate hero is George Washington, not the greatest thinker or finest warrior, but a man fully aware that he was cutting the pattern for the cloth of every future presidency. His distress over the raging factionalism of the country led him to write a resignation after his first term. He was talked out of this but had that letter dusted off after his second term, a tradition that lasted until FDR's four-term presidency. Also profiled are John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, as well as Alexander Hamilton and his political battles with ... everyone in his drive to create a capitalist economy in preference to the agricultural utopia sought by Jefferson.In France we learn about the lives of Robespierre, Danton, Marat, and the fated king and queen. In Russia the lives of Catherine and her brilliant alter ego Grigory Potemkin. The book is a thorough and insightful look into a time general taught in broad strokes in American schools. With the vast number of real conspiracies and faux conspiracies, executions and arrests the book reads like more of a political thriller than a history tome. It's eye-opening to see the paranoia that is still alive and well in American politics being played out in powdered wigs. Republicans were sure that Washington and Adams were secretly conspiring to set up a new monarchy allied with Britain. The Federalists were certain that Jefferson and his allies were set on importing a French bloodbath to American shores. What today is a fear that a president might act to seize guns was a fear that Washington would seize cattle and land. Outrage over diplomacy with France and England is no less visible in outrage over Iran and North Korea.Meanwhile the French Directorate was slicing off the heads of brilliant scientists and philosophers while using the guillotine to settle political scores. Partisans in southern France used less humane methods, tying women, children, and priests to boats that were sunk in rivers to drown all on board. It was a perilous time on both sides of the Atlantic, held together on this side by the calm and wisdom of Washington who limited intervention to shows of force followed by mercy. An excellent book that deserves the attention of anyone interested in history and American political life. 

Tracie

June 01, 2012

This book was fascinating! After reading Les Miserables I was so disappointed that I did not know more about French history, especially the time period of the French Revolution and then into Napoleon. I knew the French Revolution was bad... who doesn't? But I did not realize how bad. The author at one point compared what went on in parts of France with the Nazis, the gulags in the Soviet Union, and Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime. There were points when what I was reading made me so sick that I just had to stop for awhile. And a really sobering statistic is that over 85% of the people guillotined were commoners! (I guess it's time for some "fluff" reading.) I would highly recommend this book, despite the gruesome parts, because I learned a ton and felt the author did a great job of weaving together the events that were happening in America, Russia, and France during this time period.

David

June 23, 2009

If his book April 1865 was a must-read for every high school junior in the nation, then this effort by Mr. Winik should be a must-read for every high school senior.John Adams scared that the mob would drag him and Washington to the chopping block a la The Terror in the French Revolution? Wow! Cather

Mshelton50

July 26, 2021

I enjoyed Jay Winik's The Great Upheaval very much. In tying together the events in America, France and Russia, he reminds the reader how interconnected the 18th century world was, and in particular, how much the American Revolution influenced its French successor. He also points out how unique the American political system was, and how astonishing was the peaceful transfer of power from John Adams to his opponent and successor Thomas Jefferson. The book was very interesting and moving, too, on the final days of the ex-King and Queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.I have to admit that I am still a bit stumped by Winik's admiration of Catherine II of Russia. He readily admits that (1) Catherine had a hand in the coup that toppled her husband, Tsar Peter III (perhaps even ordering his death by strangulation); (2) her protestations as a ruler of the Enlightenment were so much window dressing, and that her reign became more and more authoritarian and despotic; (3) her two wars with the Ottoman Empire were responsible for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of her soldiers; (4) she was responsible for wiping Poland off the map for more than a century; and (5) on her orders, 800,000 free peasants became serfs. Yet, in spite of that abysmal catalogue, he still seems to have a soft spot for her.The book is a fine read, but it could have used more careful editors. There are several places where the author's purple prose distracts from the story he wants to tell. And there are some odd factual errors, such as his repeated insistence that the French naval hero of the American Revolution, the comte de Grasse, was sent to the guillotine (he was not; he died naturally in 1788, well before the storming of the Bastille), or saying that Robert E. Lee was born in 1797-98 (he was born in 1807).In spite of its flaws, I recommend the book

Yolanda

September 23, 2017

If you enjoy history, this is a fabulous read.

Wyatt

June 03, 2021

Masterful history writing. A treat to read.

Bryan

February 19, 2009

The Great Upheaval by Jay Winik is written to be a history of nations during the 1788-1800 time period. For me it became a macro analysis of the birth of the United States. This history includes the philosophers and philosophies that influenced the Revolution. One of the intriguing parts of The Great Upheaval is the history behind the countries that did not on the surface play a large role in the Revolutionary War but made decisions that without would have changed the outcome that we know. Most history books become so broad that they miss important details, while others focus so much on one individual or a single event that the larger picture is lacking. This book does well at looking at individuals, events, all the while bringing in the larger picture. Jay Winik does an excellent job comparing some of the greatest individuals to walk the earth.

Sloane

May 25, 2016

By far the most compelling work of nonfiction I've ever encountered. The author has a way of depicting complex geopolitical events in harrowing, vivid detail. More than once I forgot myself, having immersed myself so entirely in his narration. I listened to this on audiobook, and highly recommend it in that format.

Manu

March 07, 2015

I found this book fascinating, historically interesting, and beautifully written.I would not go as far as saying that I could not put it down as it took me a while to read through it, but that had more to do with time available for reading.It made me interested in history again.And I have to thank the author more than the history itself.

Reginald

January 30, 2017

If you are like me and one who is fascinated by the players and history of the American Revolution, you have given little thought to what was happening with the great nations in the rest of the world. This is the book to change that. Jay Winik's excellent book "April 1865" was the reason I picked up a copy of his "The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800." It was not an easy decision. Upheaval is 659 pages long. And I have never ventured far from America's shores for the stuff I read. Winik has changed that. "Upheaval" is a highly readable, page-turning book about revolutionary activities in Russia, France, and Great Britain, with coverage of lesser uprisings in places like Hungary and Poland. And the book is a great eye opener in just how close American revolutionaries were to the precipice in their fight for independence, both in international and, more surprisingly, domestic threats. The bumblebee-like French Ambassador Edmond Genet was creating an insurrectionary atmosphere in the new United States at a time when American insurrectionaries in Western Pennsylvania were threatening a Whiskey Rebellion. It was much more dangerous than I'd thought. Genet's timing was perfect. He was responsible for hundreds of "Democratic Societies," modeled on the French c]template. And Americans, aggravated that a government sought to tax its citizens--many of whom had just fought a war for independence over such actions, were ready to rebel again.Winik makes clear it was "One man" (page 70), who guided the young nation through its even more challenging times after the revolution. And it is Winik's coverage of the great leaders, and here I include France's bloody leaders, of the other great countries that make this book so interesting.Highly recommended.

Lauren

October 16, 2022

The premise of the book is that the Enlightenment in Europe and it’s philosophers influenced the founding fathers in the Colonies which led to the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution. This event along with the Enlightenment then influenced the French Revolution. The book covers the years 1788 - 1800 and it is in these years that the transition was made to move governments and countries into the modern era. These upheavals contained the seeds of nationalism and imperialism which will eventually lead to conflict and world wars. Winik also sees the American Revolution within the context of world wide rebellions, revolts, and civil wars with a focus on France and Russia. Winik also sees the outcome for the United States as different than Europe. In France the monarchy was overthrown but the military dictatorship of Napoleon was installed while in Russia the monarchy was able to crush rebellions and gain strength. In comparison the result of the American Revolution was the overthrow of monarchial control by England resulting in a written constitution which later included a Bill of Rights and a republican form of government. Winik points out that in the 1800s countries were connected more than we thought and thus able to influence each other when it came to philosophical and political trends. In this context the author says that the United States was a shining light, an influence to others in bringing about change. The author was able throughout the book show how events in one country influenced others and while we think of this connectivity in modern times with technology, it was taking place at the end of the 18th century just at a slower rate. A fascinating book that puts the American Revolution within the context of world wide revolutions.

Randhir

July 12, 2021

This is an extraordinary book. The Author has meticulously recreated events as they occurred in America, France and Russia during the period of the book and keeps the reader engrossed and educated simultaneously. The period is the time of the American and the French Revolutions and the rule of Catherine the Great in Russia. Rarely has one seen such exhaustive research. The Author holds Washington in the highest regard as he paints character portraits of Hamilton, Jefferson, Madison and Adams. USA, a newly created nation had to start everything new and even then it was riven with factions which could have torn the nation apart. Its contradictions were manifold. During the Continental Convention it made an attempt to abolish slavery, but since more than 50% of the delegates were slave owners it compromised despite a heartfelt appeal by a dying Benjamin Franklin. This dichotomy continues to plague America even now. The most poignant parts are the descriptions of the fate of the French Monarchy. It is at times so awful that one wants to stop reading. The animal like behaviour of the people and then subsequently, the Committee of Public Safety during the 'Terror', is wholly repugnant. In parts of France nothing less than genocide was carried out. The rule of Catherine the Great and her great minister Potemkin is beautifully described. Here this most enlightened and liberal queen turns into an autocrat as she sees the flames of Liberty enveloping France. Her conquest and breakup of Poland is, at times, heartrending. One has rarely come across a book of such quality, authentically covering a vast caste of characters. Strongly recommended.

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