Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-228) and index.

A world overturned -- The power of the people, 1789-1792 -- A republic in constant crisis, 1792-1794 -- The power of the military, 1794-1799 -- From Bonapartist Republic to Napoleonic Empire, 1800-1807 -- The Napoleonic eagle soars and finally plummets, 1808-1815 -- Conclusion: crucible of the modern world.

Provides a globally-oriented narrative history of events from 1789 until the fall of Napoleon. It emphasizes the global origins and consequences of the French Revolution and explains why it is the formative event for modern politics. The book integrates global competition, fiscal crisis, slavery and the beginnings of nationalism with the more traditional emphases on human rights and constitutions, terror and violence, and the rise of authoritarianism. This global approach then enables the authors, two world-renowned scholars in the field, to clearly illustrate how the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire changed all the political givens for Europe, the Americas, North Africa and parts of Asia as well