The Era of the French Revolution: A Bibliography of the History of Western Civilization, 1789-1799

This timely publication, listing 42,000 books, articles, and theses, aims to cover “the history of Western civilization” during the decade 1789-99. Coverage of France is thorough, although only major publications of the revolutionary era are included. The general cut-off date for inclusion was 1982. About 10 percent of the entries are annotated, usually very briefly. While about 140 pages are devoted to the Americas, and 120 to Spain and Portugal, Hispanic America, and the Caribbean, Latin Americanists are likely to be the bibliography’s least satisfied users. It was compiled mainly in libraries in the southeastern United States, as well as in the Bibliothèque Nationale and Library of Congress, but the collections at the Universities of Florida and Texas apparently were not utilized. Peru receives only 32 entries; Venezuela, 22; and Puerto Rico, 6. The biography section concerns only persons who lived in France in this period (although Toussaint Louverture is also included). The work is easy to use and contains a helpful general index.