On July 14, 1789, the Bastille—symbol of French tyranny—fell to angry Parisian mobs. The first great step to end centuries of oppression had been taken. A new era had begun—and how it would end, no one could foretell.

The French Revolution was a product of inexorable historical forces, but the direction it took was the result of the extraordinary personalities involved. On one side was Louis XVI, well meaning but slow thinking, unable to right the wrongs that forced his subjects to rebel. On the other side was the combined strength of such demagogues as Marat, Danton, Robespierre.

Step by step, from its first intoxicating days to its climactic Terror, through a combination of royal ineptitude and ruthless ambition, the Revolution proceeded. Moderate at first, its tempo quickened. The King was beheaded, the aristocracy destroyed. But this was not enough. No longer a struggle for liberty it became instead a contest for the reins of power with the leaders of the Revolution turning against each other. Before the orgy of blood-letting ended, the very men who had created it had become its victims.

This story of the French Revolution, written with historical accuracy and dramatic vividness, is an illuminating picture both of man's desire for freedom and dignity and the corruption inherent in unchecked power.

From the dust jacket