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On the Intellectual Origins of Francois Furet’s Masterpiece

2008; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3138/ttr.29.2.59

1918-6649

Samuel Moyn,

Political and Social Issues

Between 1971, when François Furet published the first parts of what would become Interpreting the Forench Revolution, and 1977, when he wrote the rest, his identity as a historian and intellectual underwent a radical shift. Surprisingly, however, no one has registered the importance of the simple fact that the text of the finished book is not a unity, either compositionally or conceptually — that, given the lapse of time and the depth of Furet’s transformation, it is the best and most decisive evidence available for coming to terms with the nature of his evolution.