On Revolution (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: novus ordo saeclorum, new body politic, elementary republics, French Revolution, John Adams, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Dr. Arendt's mind has always seemed to me something of an eighth wonder; an erudite and disciplined thinker, she still retains the ebullient intuition of a woman able always to come at things from a fresh and unusual angle. This is a study to which the thoughtful reader can return again and again for both intellectual delight and profit.”–Atlantic --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Tracing the gradual evolution of revolutions since the American and French examples, Arendt predicts the changing relationship between war and revolution and the crucial role such combustive movements will play in the future of international relations.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (February 8, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014018421X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140184211
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #799,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, May 3, 2000

By	Daniel Brieba M. (Santiago, Chile) - See all my reviews

This book is yet another deep, original and controversial contribution of Hannah Arendt to twentieth century political theory. In this book, Arendt analyzes the phenomenon of revolution by focusing almost exclusively on the great XVIIIth century revolutions, the American and the French. Arendt's deep insights allow her to compare, both on a theoretical and a practical level, the similarities and differences between the two and on how and why the American Revolution allowed the foundation of freedom while the French failed miserably in this attempt almost from the beginning. The great themes in this book are the social question (necessity) in its relation to politics (the realm of freedom) and the ever-present distinction between liberation and freedom properly speaking. Thus, constitutions and their significance, the problem of secular law in relation to its need for an Absolute with which to provide a foundation for it, the problem of hypocrisy and Robespierre's Terror, and insightful interpretations of some of the Founding Fathers' political thought (though in my opinion a bit too far reaching in her inferences thereof), are all issues with which she deals with in this book and which are rounded up in a great closing chapter. Deep, powerful, perceptive, intense: like most of Arendt's writings, a must read for anyone interested in political thought and theory.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars On "On Revolution", January 11, 2007

By	Jack Vida "College Kid" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

On Revolution by Hannah Arendt is a philosophical study of the nature of revolutions, mainly focusing on the French and American revolutions. A big portion of her analysis involves the "Social Question" involved in revolutions. How do revolutions start? Even though her writing style can be convoluted and overly verbose at times, eventually the reader will acclimate to her not so accessible prose. This is not a light read. If you want a book to stimulate internal dialogue, however, this is the book to buy.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars _, June 13, 2008

By	A. Mello - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: On Revolution (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This Arendt's classical work speaks for itself. It's a fundamental book for any studious of the processes linked to any structural rupture on the basis of organized societies.