Lies, Passions & Illusions

François Furet (1927-'97) was professor at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales in Paris and professor in the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. His many works include Interpreting the French Revolution, The Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century, and In the Workshop of History, the latter two published by the University of Chicago Press. Deborah Furet is François Furet's widow and frequent translator and works at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales.

Historian and Press author Francois Furet (1927-1997), labeled by Tony Judt as one of the most influential men in contemporary France, was author or coauthor of seminal books on the French Revolution, coeditor of the Press s Tocqueville translations, and author of three books published in translation by Chicago, the last being The Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century. In The Passing of an Illusion, Furet explored the consequences and aftermath of the Communist revolution, resulting in a penetrating history of the ideological passions that have fueled and characterized the modern era. Several months after the publication of The Passing in French, the historian engaged in a conversation with philosopher Paul Ricoeur around the themes of that book. Hope and Despair is that conversation, lightly edited and emended by Furet before his death. Furet paints a fresco of the major political movements of the twentieth century. He covers an extraordinarily broad range of subjects: the nations of Europe, the very different trajectories of Anglo-Saxon, German, Italian and French political thought and currents. He offers a vigorous defense of the role of the historian. This is a dialogue with his critics, but also with himself and the major figures that have played a fundamental role in our understanding of the tragic playing-out of the tensions inherent in egalitarian, liberal democracy in the twentieth century: Tocqueville, Arendt, Nolte, De Felice. It is perfect for both the Furet novice as well as the seasoned connoisseur interested in some of Furet s last thoughts on this topic."

Translator's Note Introduction: Francois Furet and Paul Ricoeur: A Dialogue Interrupted Christophe Prochasson Ideas and Emotions The End of a World? On the Nation: The Universal and the Particular The Socialist Movement, the Nation, and the War The Past and the Future of the Revolution The Historian's Pursuit The Seductions of Bolshevism Critique of Totalitarianism Learning from the Past Notes