John Merriman, Massacre: The Life and Death of the Paris Commune (New York: Basic Books, 2014) (From the bookjacket: "In Massacre, renowned historian John Merriman recounts the sixty-four days that changed the face of European politics forever. He introduces a cast of inimitable characters--from les petroleuses) women accused of being incendiaries) to the painter Gustave Courbet--whose ideas of justice and equality helped fuel a revolution. Incredibly progressive, the Commune initiated a number of significant social reforms, including the recognition of women's unions, calling for compulsory primary education, and schools for girls. Their utopia, however, was brought to a chaotic and bloody end on May 22 [1871], when 130,000 government troops from Versailles poured through an unguarded opening in the western wall and executed captured Connunards en masses as mush of Paris burned." Also, see Adam Gopnik, "Fires in Paris: Why Do People Still Fight About the Paris Commune?," The New Yorker, 12 22 & 29, 2014.).
John Merriman, Police Stories: Building the French State, 1815-1851 (Oxford & New York: Oxford U. Press, 2006).
