Book excerpt: Internationally renowned as the greatest authority on the French Revolution, Georges Lefebvre combined impeccable scholarship with a lively writing style. His masterly overview of the history of the French Revolution has taken its rightful place as the definitive account. A vivid narrative of events in France and across Europe is combined with acute insights into the underlying forces that created the dynamics of the revolution, as well as the personalities responsible for day-to-day decisions during this momentous period. In tracing the web of intrigues and influences that transpired as the French Revolution, Lefebvre illuminates the fundamentals of historical interpretation and, at the same time, tells a story that will compel every reader.