Overview

War and Revolution identifies and takes to task a reactionary trend among contemporary historians, one that's grown increasingly apparent in recent years. It's a revisionist tendency discernible in the work of authors such as Ernst Nolte, who traces the impetus behind the Holocaust to the excesses of the Russian Revolution; or FranCois Furet, who links the Stalinist purges to an illness originating with the French Revolution. The intention of these revisionists is to eradicate the revolutionary tradition. Their true motives have little to do with the quest for a greater understanding of the past, but lie in the climate of the present day and the ideological needs of the political classes, as is most clearly seen now in the work of the Anglophone imperial revivalists Paul Johnson and Niall Ferguson. In this vigorous riposte to those who would denigrate the history of emancipatory struggle, Losurdo captivates the reader with a tour de force account of modern revolt, providing a new perspective on the English, American, French and twentieth-century revolutions. From the Hardcover edition.

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9781322881904

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Praise for Liberalism: A Counter-History A brilliant exercise in unmasking liberal pretensions, surveying over three centuries with magisterial command of the sources. -- Financial Times Stimulatingly uncovers the contradictions of an ideology that is much too self-righteously invoked. --Pankaj Mishra, Guardian A book of wide reference and real erudition. -- Times Literary Supplement The book is a historically grounded, very accessible critique of liberalism, complementing a growing literature critical of liberalism. -- Choice There is always something to learn from books by Domenico Losurdo. And this is no exception. -- Corriere della Sera Vast historical research recommended for the depth of the 'excavation' and for the wealth of new material that emerges. -- Il Sole 24 Ore A philosopher-historian of great lucidity, author of always innovative books. -- La Stampa Losurdo is almost unbelievably well read. -- Jacobin

Author Information

Domenico Losurdo is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Urbino, Italy. He is the author of many books in Italian, German, French and Spanish. In English he has published Hegel and the Freedom of Moderns ; Heidegger and the Ideology of War ; Liberalism: A Counter-History ; and War and Revolution.

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