Fire in the Minds of Men: Origins of the Revolutionary Tradition

New York: Basic Books - Perseus Books Group, 1980. First printing; full number-line beginning w/1. Large volume at nearly 3 lbs. Black full cloth boards, red metallic spine titles, light shelf wear. Pages near fine; no writing. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Original dust wrapper in white with bold red titles, moderate shelf wear, rub, crease; unclipped 25.00, protected in new clear sleeve. Code 0980 at front flap. Clean dynamic wrapper design by Vincent Torre featuring subtitles within red wax seal emblem. Rare near fine first edition in same wrapper. The history of modern revolutions is the story of people in the grip of ideas and beliefs. James Billington traces the course of the revolutionary faith from its earliest origins in occult Freemasonry to the alleged "scientism" of today. Billington shows how revolutionary movements are examples of manipulated societies influenced into movements with overly strong convictions and blinded personas. The so-called leaders or originators of these revolutionary ideas are more often than not impassioned dupes carrying on agendas of veiled puppeteers. From bio: "James Billington (a very lauded and connected individual) has been, since 1983, director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, located in the Smithsonian. He received his doctorate as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and taught history for seventeen years at Harvard and Princeton. Leading in American academia, as a guest professor abroad, and as past Chairman of the Board of Foreign Scholarship, which directs the world-wide Fulbright Scholarship. He is the author of "Mikhailovsky and Russian Populism" and "The Icon and the Axe: An Interpretive History of Russian Culture." Contents: "Introduction; Book I: Foundations of the Revoulutionary Faith - The Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries. 1 Incarnation: The Idea of Revolution and The Fact of Revolution. 2 A Locus of Legitimacy: The Cafes of the Palais-Royal; Nicholas Bonneville and Oracular Journalism; The Fields of Festival. 3 The Objects of Belief: Liberty - The Republican Ideal; Fraternity - The Rise of Nationalism; Equality - The Vision of Community. 4 The Occult Origins of Organization: Buonorroti - The First Apostle; The Pythagorean Passion; The Philadelphian Fantasy. Book II: The Dominance of the National Revolutionaries - The Mid-nineteenth Century. 5 The Conspiratorial Constitutionalists (1815-25): The Forest Fraternity; International Echoes; Russian Reprise; Mediterranean Diaspora. 6 National vs. Social Revolution (1830-48): The Dominant Nationalists; The Rival Social Revolutionaries. 7 The Evolutionary Alternative: Lafayette and the Lost Liberals; Fazy and the Swiss Success; Societies without Revolutionaries. 8 Prophecy - The Emergence of Intelligentsia: The Saint-Simonians; The Hegelians; The Clash of 'Isms' in 1848. 9 The Early Church (1840s): Credo: Communism; Ecclesia: A New Party. 10 Schism - Marx vs. Proudhan: The Clash of Men; Enduring Issues. 11 The Magic Medium - Journalism: The French Awakening; Ideological Journalism in Germany and Russia. 12 The Waning of Revolutionary Nationalism: The Last Heroes; Mass Journalism; Napoleon III and 'Imperialism'; The Paris Commune; Marx vs. Bakunin; The Lost Romance. Book III: The Rise of the Social Revolutionaries - The Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. 13 The Machine - German Social Democracy: Lassallean Origins; Kautskian Orthodoxy; The Struggle with Revisionism. 14 The Bomb - Russian Violence: The Slogans of the Sixties; The Banners of the Seventies; The Lasting Legacy. 15 Revolutionary Syndicalism: The 'General Strike'; The Fascist Mutation; Western Frontier. The Path to Power - Lenin: The German Legacy; Russian Roots; The Master Builder; The Symbiosis of Extremes. 17 The Role of Women: The French; Russians; Germans; Rosa Luxemberg. Epilogue: Beyond Europe; Notes; and, an Index." Printed in the United States of America. 677 pages. Insured post.. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.