Reflections on the Revolution in France (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ Edmund Burke (Author), Conor Cruise O'Brien (Contributor) "You are pleased to call again, and with some earnestness, for my thoughts on the late proceedings in France..." (more)
Key Phrases: public estate, Old Jewry, Revolution Society, Great Britain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Providing a fresh perspective on a much-studied classic, Clark’s edition is both innovative and informative. The first modern edition to reprint the text of the first edition of the Reflections, it brings readers closer to the historic document. . . . This volume should become the starting point for serious study of the Reflections.”—F. P. Lock, Queen’s University

“ . . . [Reflections on the Revolution in France] will help both the student and the advanced scholar to engage with one of the founding texts of modernity, as well as providing, in its own right, an interpretive contribution to Burke studies.”—History of Political Thought

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Burke's seminal work was written during the early months of the French Revolution, and it predicted with uncanny accuracy many of its worst excesses, including the Reign of Terror. A scathing attack on the revolution's attitudes to existing institutions, property and religion, it makes a cogent case for upholding inherited rights and established customs, argues for piecemeal reform rather than revolutionary change - and deplores the influence Burke feared the revolution might have in Britain. "Reflections on the Revolution in France" is now widely regarded as a classic statement of conservative political thought, and is one of the eighteenth century's great works of political rhetoric.

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Product Details Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 16, 1982) Language: English ISBN-10: 0140432043 ISBN-13: 978-0140432046 Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
You are pleased to call again, and with some earnestness, for my thoughts on the late proceedings in France. Read the first page

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public estate

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old Jewry, Revolution Society, Great Britain, Henry the Fourth, Tiers Etat, Tour du Pin

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Citations (learn more)

100 books cite this book:

• Gibbon and the 'Watchmen of the Holy City': The Historian and his Reputation, 1776-1815 by David Womersley on 14 pages
• Virtue and the Promise of Conservatism: The Legacy of Burke and Tocqueville by Bruce Frohnen on 6 pages
• Thomas Paine by A. J. Ayer on 5 pages
• Modern Political Theory from Hobbes to Marx: Key Debates by Jack Lively on 5 pages
• Acts of Hope: Creating Authority in Literature, Law, and Politics by James Boyd White on 4 pages

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (2) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 3.9 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 21 of 23 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The Original Exposition of Conservative Principles, July 18, 1999 By A Customer This review is from: Reflections on the Revolution in France (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback) Edmund Burke is considered by many to be the first to expound upon Conservative principles. And this book provides plenty of justification for that view. Burke's "reflections" are especially potent since they not only provide a common sense defense of Conservative values but allow one to examine the consequences of ignoring those values, vis-à-vis the French Revolution. Burke defends the stability that comes with constancy and aged wisdom and derides those that embrace variability and experimentation as virtues. However, the reader is not left with the impression that Burke is opposed to all change. Quite the contrary. Recognizing the fallibility of Man, Burke fully expects that there is to be changes in our habits and prejudices as part of the normal course of human endeavors in order to improve upon established wisdom. But he forthrightly rejects the wholesale dismissal of knowledge and wisdom accumulated over vast periods of time. And he holds no punches in castigating the French Revolutionaries who were so presumptuous and arrogant as to count their vernacular wisdom wiser than that of all generations preceding them. He uses example after example of failures in the French experiment to demonstrate the futility and imbecility of starting afresh instead of building upon an existing foundation. This book is an absolute must read for conservatives. 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 27, 1996 By A Customer Without a doubt, the finest political/philosophical conservative text published in its time. The Honorable Mr. Burke saw what the French revolution was about and attacked it root and branch. Ultimately being vindicated by Napoleon's fall at Waterloo. The work posits the chaos of the left to the natural political order of the right well before those terms were connected. Serious students of the subject will learn much from this text 24 of 28 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book., March 24, 2001 By  miked99 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews This version (Penguin Classics) has a wonderfully informative(81 pages) introduction that will bring anyone not familiar with Edmund Burke or his writings up to par. Edmund Burke originally wrote what became "Reflections" as a letter in response to a young Parisian man who sought his support. He later went back to elaborate upon the original letter and wrote this book, knowing then that the book would be read by many more than the simple few that would read the letter. In "Reflections on the Revolution in France", Edmund Burke lays down his arguments against several items on which he disagreed with the National Assembly leaders responsible for the French Revolution. The basis for most of his concerns was that he saw the French to be tossing aside all the prior wisdom and knowledge gained throughout history, simply to erect a radical, new government. It is amazing in retrospect to see how uncannily Burke predicted the Reign of Terror that would follow shortly. Thomas Paine, a hero of the US Revolution, who then went to France to aid in their revolt, angrily chastized Burke and this book, in Paine's "The Rights of Man." But while Paine gave many valid points in his book (I recommend it and this one for the full spectrum of the debate), he clearly ended up on the wrong side of this argument. Another thing I found so amazing about reading this book was how Burke's warnings to the French are still almost entirely applicable today. One of my favorite passages, Burke writing about the general public, is something I would love to personally deliver to every modern-day political pollster (not to mention Bill Clinton & Co.): "A perfect democracy is therefore the most shameless thing in the world... It is therefore of infinite importance that they (the people) should not be suffered to imagine that their will, any more than that of kings, is the standard of right and wrong." I recommend this book to anyone who thinks logically or wants to know why conservatives think the way they do. Also, if you believe yourself to normally be conservative, but often find yourself pinned or lacking an explanation for why you are against something that the majority, or "trendy" minorities, might support, then this book is where you need to start.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Burke's evils of the French Revolution This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of the French Revolution. In Burke's book Reflections on the Revolution in France, he penned a diatribe against the... Read more Published 11 months ago by Michael A Neulander 1.0 out of 5 stars Could have been written by a Thermidorian pamphleteer Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" is analysis lacking in accuracy and originality by an enemy of democracy which should not be read without careful consideration... Read more Published on January 18, 2007 by Suzanne Levin 5.0 out of 5 stars The Revised Oxford Edition It Ain't Don't buy this book! The Revised Oxford Edition of this classic book has it all: Insightful introduction, properly translated quotations, fine notes. Published on October 10, 2006 by M. Neff 1.0 out of 5 stars Text is Great, Intro by L.G.Mitchell is better Can't improve on the text of REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE. He was the dominant political thinker of the last quarter of the 18th century in ENgland. Read more Published on September 13, 2006 by Theodore Greenwood 5.0 out of 5 stars Reflections on the Revolution in France: (Penguin Classics) Reflections on the Revolution in France written by Edmund Burke and Edited with an introduction by Conor Cruise O'Brien the Penguin Classics version is the best version of this... Read more Published on September 8, 2002 by Joe Zika 4.0 out of 5 stars "The Wild Gas" ... let loose... I personally find, overall, that other persons writing about and analyzing Burke and his views tend to be a bit more interesting and compelling, than Burke himself in his... Read more Published on May 17, 2002 by encolp1850 3.0 out of 5 stars Correction to the one underneath My recommendation was for the Oxford rather than the Everyman edition, edited by L.G. Mitchell. I apologise for this error. Published on October 11, 2001 3.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book in a terrible edition I would agree with the commentators below in that Burke is by far the greatest politican ever, and that Reflections is not to be missed. Read more Published on October 8, 2001 4.0 out of 5 stars welcome to conservative thought Edmund Burke sets the stage for conservative political philosophy in the United States. Burke discusses the importance of tradition in society, the importance of political... Read more Published on July 25, 2001 by Jason W. Atwell 5.0 out of 5 stars Deep and prophetically eloquent. In Life of Johnson, Boswell brings up the name of Johnson's one-time sparing partner, Edmund Burke. Johnson, being quite sick, and not given to easy praise, admits, "Yes,... Read more Published on July 4, 2000 by David Marshall Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (December 16, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140432043
• ISBN-13: 978-0140432046
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #185,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original Exposition of Conservative Principles, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Reflections on the Revolution in France (Great Books in Philosophy) (Paperback)

Edmund Burke is considered by many to be the first to expound upon Conservative principles. And this book provides plenty of justification for that view. Burke's "reflections" are especially potent since they not only provide a common sense defense of Conservative values but allow one to examine the consequences of ignoring those values, vis-à-vis the French Revolution. Burke defends the stability that comes with constancy and aged wisdom and derides those that embrace variability and experimentation as virtues. However, the reader is not left with the impression that Burke is opposed to all change. Quite the contrary. Recognizing the fallibility of Man, Burke fully expects that there is to be changes in our habits and prejudices as part of the normal course of human endeavors in order to improve upon established wisdom. But he forthrightly rejects the wholesale dismissal of knowledge and wisdom accumulated over vast periods of time. And he holds no punches in castigating the French Revolutionaries who were so presumptuous and arrogant as to count their vernacular wisdom wiser than that of all generations preceding them. He uses example after example of failures in the French experiment to demonstrate the futility and imbecility of starting afresh instead of building upon an existing foundation. This book is an absolute must read for conservatives.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 27, 1996

By A Customer

Without a doubt, the finest political/philosophical conservative text published in its time. The Honorable Mr. Burke saw what the French revolution was about and attacked it root and branch. Ultimately being vindicated by Napoleon's fall at Waterloo. The work posits the chaos of the left to the natural political order of the right well before those terms were connected. Serious students of the subject will learn much from this text

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book., March 24, 2001

By	miked99 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This version (Penguin Classics) has a wonderfully informative(81 pages) introduction that will bring anyone not familiar with Edmund Burke or his writings up to par.

Edmund Burke originally wrote what became "Reflections" as a letter in response to a young Parisian man who sought his support. He later went back to elaborate upon the original letter and wrote this book, knowing then that the book would be read by many more than the simple few that would read the letter.

In "Reflections on the Revolution in France", Edmund Burke lays down his arguments against several items on which he disagreed with the National Assembly leaders responsible for the French Revolution. The basis for most of his concerns was that he saw the French to be tossing aside all the prior wisdom and knowledge gained throughout history, simply to erect a radical, new government. It is amazing in retrospect to see how uncannily Burke predicted the Reign of Terror that would follow shortly. Thomas Paine, a hero of the US Revolution, who then went to France to aid in their revolt, angrily chastized Burke and this book, in Paine's "The Rights of Man." But while Paine gave many valid points in his book (I recommend it and this one for the full spectrum of the debate), he clearly ended up on the wrong side of this argument.

Another thing I found so amazing about reading this book was how Burke's warnings to the French are still almost entirely applicable today. One of my favorite passages, Burke writing about the general public, is something I would love to personally deliver to every modern-day political pollster (not to mention Bill Clinton & Co.): "A perfect democracy is therefore the most shameless thing in the world... It is therefore of infinite importance that they (the people) should not be suffered to imagine that their will, any more than that of kings, is the standard of right and wrong."

I recommend this book to anyone who thinks logically or wants to know why conservatives think the way they do. Also, if you believe yourself to normally be conservative, but often find yourself pinned or lacking an explanation for why you are against something that the majority, or "trendy" minorities, might support, then this book is where you need to start.