{"product_id":"robespierre-marcel-gauchet-9780691212944","title":"Robespierre: The Man Who Divides Us the Most","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow Robespierre's career and legacy embody the dangerous contradictions of democracy\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMaximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) is arguably the most controversial and contradictory figure of the French Revolution, inspiring passionate debate like no other protagonist of those dramatic and violent events. The fervor of those who defend Robespierre the \"Incorruptible,\" who championed the rights of the people, is met with revulsion by those who condemn him as the bloodthirsty tyrant who sent people to the guillotine. Marcel Gauchet argues that he was both, embodying the glorious achievement of liberty as well as the excesses that culminated in the Terror. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn much the same way that 1789 and 1793 symbolize the two opposing faces of the French Revolution, Robespierre's contradictions were the contradictions of the revolution itself. Robespierre was its purest incarnation, neither the defender of liberty who fell victim to the corrupting influence of power nor the tyrant who betrayed the principles of the revolution. Gauchet shows how Robespierre's personal transition from opposition to governance was itself an expression of the tragedy inherent in a revolution whose own prophetic ideals were impossible to implement. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis panoramic book tells the story of how the man most associated with the founding of modern French democracy was also the first tyrant of that democracy, and it offers vital lessons for all democracies about the perpetual danger of tyranny.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Marcel Gauchet\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691212945\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691212944\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/08\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.40h x 6.20w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/27\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2023","brand":"Marcel Gauchet","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44044721062143,"sku":"9780691212944","price":37.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_8b26d7fa-ee66-43f6-8b7c-c4c727fa9389.jpg?v=1684974497","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/robespierre-marcel-gauchet-9780691212944","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}