Hardcover. Cambridge MA, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1st, 1986, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Good, Hardcover in a lightly worn, chipped dust jacket, 456 pages. In a dazzling new interpretation of four hundred years of modern French history, Charles Tilly focuses not on kings and courtiers but on the common people of village and farm buffeted by the inexorable advance of large-scale capitalism and the consolidation of a powerful nation-state. Tilly, author of The Vendee and many other books, chooses the contention of the masses as his medium in painting this vivid picture of the people's growing ability and willingness to fight injustice, challenge exploitation, and claim their own place in the hierarchy of power. He tells the story of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, a watershed event in French history. The war pitted the young, ambitious Prussian military against the experienced and battle-hardened French army. The French were ultimately defeated, and the humiliating Treaty of Frankfurt relegated France to a second-rate power. The Contentious French offers a unique, insider's perspective on one of the most dramatic and significant events in French history. Clean copy.
 "The Contentious Frenchby: Charles Tilly")