‘People embraced each other, shook hands, joy radiated from every eye, there was no limit to the celebrations.’ There can be few more exciting or frightening moments in European history than the spring of 1848. Almost as if by magic, in city after city, from Palermo to Paris to Venice, huge crowds gathered, sometimes peaceful and sometimes violent, and the political order that had held sway since the defeat of Napoleon simply collapsed. Christopher Clark’s book recreates with verve, wit, and insight this extraordinary period.