Having been challenged by interpretations,and analyzing the assumptions behind the concept of Western civilization, The Western Experience presents a confused panorama about what Western Civilization is all about. Is European Civilization the civilization of Modern Europe and America excluding Australia? The concept of civilization is avoided in spite of the fact that the text was designed to provide an analytical and comprehensive account of the processes by which European society and civilization evolved. Civilization is defined as just a social organization with more complex rules than those of the cavemen. The proper concept of civilization is not treated in a rational and coherent manner. How does the narrative around selected recurring themes fit together under a broader concept of civilization in order to understand the continuing thread of developmment of the so-called western civilization? How do you distinguish one civilization from another in space and in time?

After the drama of the French Revolution, the study of French political history just sort of dissolves. Considering that one of the key goals of the men of Brumaire was to depoliticize French society, this can be considered to be a sign of their triumph. Woloch's useful book discusses how Napoleon set up a technocratic, conservative regime in which organs outside of Napoleon increasingly lost their independence. We have intelligent accounts of key figures like Cambaceres, Berlier and Boulay de la Meurthe. As Napoleon moves from conspirator to consul to first consul to counsel for life to Emperor, several themes emerge from this book.

One cannot help but be reminded of the Animal Farm logic of the proceedings or recall how Hitler hoodwinked the conservative elite who levered into power. Yet Woloch is too good a historian to invoke such a vulgar comparison. Napoleon in this account was conservative, vain, desirious of power and increasingly arbitrary in using it. But he was also hard-working (unlike Hitler), genuinely courageous, and infinitely less ideological than most dictators. He was contemptuous of public debate, but for most of his reign he would tolerate and listen to opposing advice, as long as it was tactfully presented and dealt with issues that he did not find absolutely vital (such as his own person). His police regime was one of harsh censorship, a muzzled press, and a system of "preventive detention." But the jury trial still survived, and his prison system was not especially vicious and bloodthirsty. Woloch devotes a whole chapter to the bureaucratic commissions who occasionally, but insufficiently, succeeded in mitigating the rigors of this system. His bureaucrats were generously compensated at the expense of Europe, but they were reasonably competent and efficient until the last few years.

Another theme that comes up is that Napoleon was not a man of the left. The Coup of 18th Brumaire was directed against the neo-Jacobins, Napoleon consistently compromised with amenable royalists and emigres rather than with Jacobins and democrats. One of the key moves in establishing his power was the mass deportation of Jacobins after an assassination attempt in December 1800 which actually came from disgruntled royalists. He tried to flatter the old nobility, was thoroughly elitist and he avoided any attempt to bring the larger population into the political picture. The result was a regime where Napoleon appeared to possess unquestioned power, but which collapsed in the wake of military defeat.

The result is a work that is thoroughly competent, if not very original. Compared to Woloch's first book on the post-Thermidor Jacobins, it does not so much fill a void as update our knowledge. More could have been said about the fragility of the society and about the larger social context of its support. The Napoleonic entourage was a rather grey lot, so there are few illuminating details. (Though there is the priceless account of how Cambaceres, now archchancellor of the empire, wrote in a panic to Napoleon asking him for approval to deport his troublesome old stepmother from Paris). Only does the last chapter really come to life. In particular, we see after Waterloo Napoleon forced to abdicate, and a commission of five parliamentarians meeting to consider what to do. It is heartbreaking to see the honorable, courageous Carnot betrayed by the opportunist Fouche as the Bourbons are invited back again. Carnot and other regicides are forced into exile, as well as Fouche by an ungrateful dynasty. Quite frankly, this isn't fair.

I think the French revolution was the first time a mature society was shaken to it's foundations since the fall of the Roman republic. This book illustrates what happens when a cultural revolution occurs and in many ways explains the acts of the fascists and communists.

I found this to be an entertaining and well researched volume. Isser Woloch adds to his reputation as a Napoleonic scholar and master of his sources.

In this volume, he makes a thorough examination of the transformation of an authoritarian but nevertheless limited consulship into the empire of Napoleon; "the dictatorship that dare not speak its name". This volume also examines the lives of Napoleon's civil henchmen and the delicate question of how far loyalty to one's leader is loyalty to the state and to the nation.

This is not a military history, but I recommend it to anyone whose interest in Napoleon extends past his role as war leader.

Yours, James D. Gray

I had to purchase this book for my guide to AP European History.

I had never before had a course in European History and this gave me a disadvantage in using this book.

Because the text assumes you know who everyone is, the immeadiately tell you every single way history views important people, classes, wars, monarchs, etc.

Also, the reading can get very tedious.

However, I gave this book 3 stars because it does offer more than just what happened. It also tries to show the student, "why did it happen."

TO teachers/professors: Only give this book to your class if they have some experience of European History

"The Western Experience" edited by Chambers covers a massive range of topics in a manner that is conducive to the understanding of the material. The book discusses many Social, Political and economic trends for each respective time frame. However, there are some glaring omissions as a historical text. The book will state for example, that a certain organization was established in a certain year, however, nothing further is mentioned. No explanations as to why or as to what purpose said organization ultimately served. Further, the text becomes, at times, difficult to follow, as things are not discussed in chronological order. The reader often has difficulty in distinguishing the year and what specific events where happening elsewhere at the same time. But it must be noted here that the reader most certainly does recognize parallelism within history, as the result of its interconnected, yet non-chronological, organization scheme.

If must be noted, however, that while it is at times difficult to follow, the book, especially in the more modern history parts, does a relatively good job of remaining objective.

continuation... Mention is made of a new civilization taking root in the west and north of Europe without specifying what are the elements and characteristics of such a civilization. Why west and north and not the south such as Italy or Spain and Portugal? The factors and conditions that make-up this new civilization are not analyzed nor systematized. Medieval civilization is mentioned without describing how it developed through its supposedly unifying theme of community and class identity. Finally in the epilogue, Roman Civilization is touched under Human Rights, as Roman law was extended wherever Roman civilization could reach. Roman Imperial Civilization is a sub-title but there is no analysis nor consideration of this HIGHER empire as a civilization. If historians look to Near Eastern societies for the root conceptions of organized government, writing, law, complex religious ideas, ethical values, etc., cornerstones of modern society,

they should also trace the origins and development of Western Civilization under this context.