Robert Roswell Palmer was een Amerikaanse historicus die gespecialiseerd was in het achttiende-eeuwse Frankrijk. Zijn meest invloedrijke werk onderzocht het tijdperk van de democratische revolutie dat tussen 1760 en 1800 de Atlantische beschaving overspoelde. Palmer verkende de politieke geschiedenis van Europa en Amerika gedurende deze periode en bood diepgaande inzichten in de vorming van moderne democratieën. Zijn werk droeg aanzienlijk bij aan het begrip van dit cruciale tijdperk.
An excellent book on the administration of France by the great Committee of Public Safety. . . . [Palmer] has made the members of the Committee living characters and the events of the period real occurrences.--American Political Science Review
Explores how the American, French, and Polish revolutions, along with political movements in Britain, Ireland, and Holland, reflect similar political ideas, needs, and conflicts.
Conceived & written as a history of the modern world rather than a truncated Western Civilization book, this text is one of the most highly praised history texts ever published. In 1950 Palmer published A History of the Modern World, which is in its tenth edition as of 4/06. He prepared the latest versions with the assistance of Joel Colton & Lloyd Kramer. The text has been translated into six languages & is used in more than 1000 colleges & many Advanced Placement History high school classes. It's notable for its clear, essay-like writing style. Palmer's introduction covers the period from the earliest signs of human civilization to 1300 CE. The main body of the text covers events from the Black Death to the Fall of the USSR in European history. The book is grouped into categories based on ideas, i.e. the effect of the French Revolution on modern & ancient thought may be mentioned before the French Revolution.