The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 1st Edition

by Jay Winik (Author)

122 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0060083137

ISBN-10: 0060083131

Why is ISBN important?

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Share <Embed>

Condition: Used - Good

In Stock. Sold by Hawthorne Academic, Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

147 Used from $8.93

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Deliver to France

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Only 1 left in stock - order soon.

Sold by Scottsvillebox and Fulfilled by Amazon.

This item ships to France. Want it Thursday, Oct. 18? Order within and choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout. Learn more

List Price: $29.95
Save: $13.68 (46%)

26 New from $16.27

Deliver to France

Turn on 1-Click ordering

More Buying Choices

26 New from $16.27 147 Used from $8.93 21 Collectible from $13.18

194 used & new from $8.93

See All Buying Options

Free Two-Day Shipping for College Students with Amazon Student

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 revolution. But in contrast to the way conventional histories tell it, none of these remarkable events occurred in isolation. Now, for the first time, in The Great Upheaval, acclaimed historian Jay Winik masterfully illuminates how their fates combined in one extraordinary moment to change the course of civilization.

In this sweeping, magisterial drama, 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 top-pling 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 to walk upon the world stage: Washington and Jefferson, Louis XVI and Robespierre, Catherine the Great, Adams, Napoleon, and Selim III. With powerful echoes for understanding the international chaos that confronts the globe today, we see them all fighting desperately for the ideals they believed in, whether man-made democracy or divinely inspired autocracy, whether republicanism or Allah's law.

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.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $50.50

These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 by Jay Winik Hardcover $16.27
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by OSTOM and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
April 1865: The Month That Saved America by Jay Winik Hardcover $19.01
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by linkearth.
$4.69 shipping
1944: FDR and the Year That Changed History by Jay Winik Hardcover $15.22
Only 14 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by CE_BOOKHOUSE and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Jay Winik

405

Hardcover
$19.01
Jay Winik

302

Hardcover
$15.22
Jay Winik

405

Paperback
$13.25
Jay Winik

8

Hardcover
$21.97
2

Hardcover
$18.57
Ronald C. White

500

Hardcover
$10.19

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Fresh and brilliant, this is the book that completely redefines the founding era. As the 1790s began, America was struggling to survive at home and abroad, and the world was gripped by an arc of revolutionary fervor stretching from Philadelphia and Paris to St. Petersburg and Cairo--with fatal results. While a fragile United States teetered on the brink of oblivion, Russia towered as a vast imperial power, the Islamic peoples were gearing for war, and France plunged into monumental revolution. In The Great Upheaval, acclaimed historian Jay Winik masterfully illuminates how their fates combined in one extraordinary moment to change the course of civilization and bequeath us the nation--indeed, the world--we've inherited. Below we see a brief taste of the incredible events and people who shaped this most memorable of decades.

A Timeline of The Great Upheaval

1787		George Washington and the founders gather in Philadelphia to create the Constitution. Meanwhile, Russia's Empress Catherine the Great prepares her bloody assault on the Islamic Ottoman Empire, thus unleashing the first modern holy war between Islam and Christianity.
1789		When the Bastille falls, it is a sound heard around the world: George Washington is sent the key to the fortress, while upon the hearing the news, Russians dance in the streets. King Louis XVI asks, "Is this a revolt?" and is told, "No sire, it's a revolution."
1791-92		Having helped midwife the American rebels to independence, an outraged Catherine seeks to stamp out the French Revolutionary menace. Undaunted, a radicalized France soon declares, "war on the castles, peace on the cottages," triggering a savage world war that lasts 21 years and costs millions of lives.

President George Washington

1793		George Washington receives Revolutionary France's new envoy, Citizen Genet, who audaciously seeks to foment insurrection at America's borders, pitting American against American. An ocean away, the French king, who had been America's staunchest ally, is beheaded.
1794		The Whiskey Rebellion begins, threatening civil war in America. To Washington's chagrin, as the Terror heats up in France, the Whiskey Rebels in Pennsylvania carry mock guillotines, shoot up likenesses of George Washington, and threaten to march on Philadelphia. Washington frantically assembles a force larger than used at Yorktown.

The excecution of King Louis XVI

1795		Catherine's armies carve up the ancient kingdom of Poland, where the rebellion was led by a hero of the American revolution, Thaddeus Kosiusko, sending a dire signal to the infant American Republic about the perils of military weakness.
1797-98		As Napoleon's armies ominously devour Europe "leaf by leaf," president John Adams fears the young republic will be invaded next. With war fever gripping the country, the administration harshly represses civil liberties.
1800		In the most contested election in U.S. history, military forces are mobilized and the nation again hangs on the precipice of civil war. But unlike in France and Russia, America manages an unprecedented first--a peaceful transfer of power between antagonists, making Thomas Jefferson America's third president.

Empress Catherine the Great

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The years 1788 to 1800 must be numbered among the most tumultuous in history, as bestselling author Winik (April 1865) magnificently demonstrates in this aptly titled book. The nascent United States, tormented by three rebellions of its own, tottered as France descended into bloody terror and imperial Russia fought the Ottomans. Republicanism, liberalism, democracy, nationalism, as well as authoritarianism: all these potent ideologies, whose effects remain with us, sprouted from this fertile soil.The emphasis on Russian and French affairs marks Winik as being in the forefront of a growing campaign to globalize America's national history: to view the larger age and frame the story as one continuous, interlocking narrative rather than to focus myopically on events in the United States. The world then was far more interconnected than we realize, Winik writes. [G]reat nations and leaders were acutely conscious of one another.In this version, Washington, Jefferson and Adams no longer receive exclusive star billing, but instead share the stage with such greats as the Empress Catherine, the doomed Louis XVI, Robespierre, Napoleon and Kosciuszko. If there is a criticism to be made of this approach, it is that Winik has greatly underplayed the importance of Britain in the struggle for global mastery and the quest for international order.Buttressed by impeccable research, vividly narrated and deftly organized, this is popular history of the highest order and is sure to create a stir in the fall market. 16 pages of b&w photos, 3 maps. (Sept. 11)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Hardcover: 690 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (September 11, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060083131
ISBN-13: 978-0060083137
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 2 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 122 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #786 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Revolution & Founding
- #1410 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > United States
- #11216 in Books > History > World

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

Be the first video

Your name here

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

See Kindle Edition

Customer reviews

Write a customer review

See all 122 customer reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Terry Tucker

Audacity, Action, and Tragedy on a Global Scale

December 2, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The Book reads very well. It is very readable history. The author paints a compelling story of how the events, ideas, and actors in England, France, Prussia, Russia and the United States were far more interconnected than most give credit for. What is probably the most compelling aspect is the fact that, although it would take a couple of decades for the ideas , players and events to foment, they all come together in the span of a decade and would give rise to the first Industrial Era and the Modern World. It is easy to focus on the singularity of Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Madison and many others, but when juxtaposed against the geopolitics of the time, they truly were a "galaxy of humankind's greatest thinkers and doers...the most idealistic generation ever witnessed."

Despite the vast physical distances and seeming slowness in communication. America and the world at large were not virtually independent of each other.

The one drawback i would give this book is that the author spent a little more time in background information in some areas, specifically, for me, Turkey and the issue of slavery. Yes, background and level setting are necessary, however i felt that the author diverged too greatly a few times before returning to the crux of the story.

2 people found this helpful

Comment

December 4, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Americans (myself included) are generally so ignorant of history, virtually any effort to remedy that deficiency could be called "important reading." This book, however, deserves more acclaim than that. It presents, and argues convincingly for, a thesis — i.e., that representative democracy established itself against all odds during this period, 1788–1800, and the world is the beneficiary of America's experiment. The book does this by contrasting events in France and Russia during the same period.

Well worth your time, and well written to the extent it reads more like a novel than a dry dates-and-facts historical tome. The book's one weakness is an editorial one, not likely to be noticed by many readers, but regrettable just the same: the author is fond of using single-sentence paragraphs (or even broken phrases; incomplete sentences) to emphasize conclusions, as if they were retrospective headings or subheads in the manuscript.

I longed for better editing as I read the book, but this shortcoming in no way diminishes the book's value. It is important reading, and very readable. Buy and enjoy.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

hank

Excellent historical review of the startup of the United States

May 20, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Excellent historical review of the startup of the United States. The profiles of the founding fathers, G. Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and many others including Ben Franklin gives a view into how these individuals thought and how they kept this country together during the early years. Of course other countries played a role in the formation of this country such as Russia and France. Deep insight into King Louis XVI and the tsarina Cahterine the Great provide insight in how these individuals helped form our country. There is a huge cast of characters that are discussed in this book - too many to mention but this is a great read giving the reader a perspective into the new America.

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Jim in Lititz

Excellent and informative read

August 25, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I read Wink's other book "April 1865" and it was terrific so I bought this one and it too is terrific. Excellent writing style holds your interest while educating you on the subject. I wish he would write more, he made me a fan

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Jonathan

popular history at it's best

April 10, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Noted popular historian Jay Winik has written a very enjoyable history of a very interesting and tumultuous period of American and World history. As previous reviewers Joseph Ellis and Gordon Wood have said in their reviews of this book, Winik's talent is that of a story teller and he does indeed tell a fascinating story here. While Winik's style is sometimes littered with the melodramatic contrivances that I would expect from Time magazine, he is never distracted from the shear excitement and monumental importance of these events.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Thomas Adams

American and French Revolutions and Russian expansion

June 14, 2014

Format: Audio CDVerified Purchase

Very interesting triple history of the American and French revolutions and Catherine the Great's Russia. All occurred at the same time and influenced each other. As a tidbit, did you know that John Paul Jones became an Admiral in the Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish war?

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Robert Metzger

The Greatest Age of Liberty

August 9, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Having read all of Dr Winiks other works I am again amazed at the quality of the research and continue to be impressed with the readibility of all his work. I await the next one

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

thomgray

It's also the best. Wink s ability to provide contextual framework among ...

February 21, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This is the third book of Mr. Wink s that I have read. It's also the best . Wink s ability to provide contextual framework among France, Russia and the United States is amazing. Anyone interested in the 1790 s political history will enjoy this book.

Helpful

Not Helpful

Comment

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Jay Winik

405

Paperback
$13.25
Jay Winik

302

Hardcover
$15.22
Jay Winik

122

Hardcover
$18.68
Jay Winik

8

Hardcover
$21.97
Jon Meacham

573

Paperback
$16.42
Nathaniel Philbrick

561

Paperback
$18.00

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: history of detroit

The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 1st Edition

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

Customer reviews

Filter by popular topics in reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788-1800 1st Edition

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open $8.93 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Buy new On clicking this link, a new layer will be open $16.27 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

Turn on 1-Click ordering

Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From Publishers Weekly

Product details

Related Video Shorts (0)

Be the first video

Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features:

Customer reviews

Filter by popular topics in reviews

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Most recent customer reviews

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Buy used On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

$8.93 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

Buy new On clicking this link, a new layer will be open

$16.27 On clicking this link, a new layer will be open