The Dreyfus Affair

(Hardback)

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Description

On October 15, 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery captain attached to the French General Staff, was arrested for having betrayed his country by selling military secrets to the Germans. He was convicted of treason by military courtmartial and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, but over the next 12 years a small group of human rights supporters was able to clear him and identify the real traitor, and Dreyfus was pardoned. The most sensational case in French history, it pitted national security interests against individual rights, exposed the anti-Semitism that permeated France, and influenced the course of Europe as it rumbled toward the first of two world wars. This work provides a comprehensive examination of this incident for students, including a narrative historical overview, essays on major aspects of the event, lengthy biographical profiles of the key players, the text of important primary documents contemporary to the time, a timeline of the event and list of French Presidents and Ministers of War during the Affair.

Reviews

.,."useful for researchers who need more information than they can find in an encyclopedia but don't know where else to turn. The blend of reference material and essays that provide background and context is particularly helpful when applied to topics that may be unfamiliar or are not heavily covered elsewhere....should be useful in high-school, college, and large public libraries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
...useful for researchers who need more information than they can find in an encyclopedia but don't know where else to turn. The blend of reference material and essays that provide background and context is particularly helpful when applied to topics that may be unfamiliar or are not heavily covered elsewhere....should be useful in high-school, college, and large public libraries.-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin
[t]his is a first rate book on the famous affair, and as such it belongs in all libraries, personal or academic, that deal with the subject.-History: Reviews of New Books
[D]erfler has written an eminently useful introduction to the Dreyfus Affair that ought to be purchased for library shelves around the country. He is attuned to not only how the Affair reveals the tensions between the French at the time of the crisis, but the enduring insight that studying the Dreyfus Affair can offer for the conflicts we face in our own day and age.-H-Net Reviews
Derfler presents a concise overview of current scholarship devoted to the Dreyfus Affair and turn-of-the-20th-century French political culture....Recommended for general and undergraduate readers.-Choice
This accesible volume contains a wealth of material on the Dreyfus affair, with discussion of its historiography, the history of anti-Semitism in France, a collection of primary documents, and a glossary of terms.-Reference & Research Book News
This book is sure to provide enjoyable reading for a history lover, It also will serve as an excellent research source, especially its primary documents....well documented and well written. Recommended.-Library Media Connection
"this is a first rate book on the famous affair, and as such it belongs in all libraries, personal or academic, that deal with the subject."-History: Reviews of New Books
"Derfler has written an eminently useful introduction to the Dreyfus Affair that ought to be purchased for library shelves around the country. He is attuned to not only how the Affair reveals the tensions between the French at the time of the crisis, but the enduring insight that studying the Dreyfus Affair can offer for the conflicts we face in our own day and age."-H-Net Reviews
"[t]his is a first rate book on the famous affair, and as such it belongs in all libraries, personal or academic, that deal with the subject."-History: Reviews of New Books
"[D]erfler has written an eminently useful introduction to the Dreyfus Affair that ought to be purchased for library shelves around the country. He is attuned to not only how the Affair reveals the tensions between the French at the time of the crisis, but the enduring insight that studying the Dreyfus Affair can offer for the conflicts we face in our own day and age."-H-Net Reviews
"Derfler presents a concise overview of current scholarship devoted to the Dreyfus Affair and turn-of-the-20th-century French political culture....Recommended for general and undergraduate readers."-Choice
"This accesible volume contains a wealth of material on the Dreyfus affair, with discussion of its historiography, the history of anti-Semitism in France, a collection of primary documents, and a glossary of terms."-Reference & Research Book News
"This book is sure to provide enjoyable reading for a history lover, It also will serve as an excellent research source, especially its primary documents....well documented and well written. Recommended."-Library Media Connection
..."useful for researchers who need more information than they can find in an encyclopedia but don't know where else to turn. The blend of reference material and essays that provide background and context is particularly helpful when applied to topics that may be unfamiliar or are not heavily covered elsewhere....should be useful in high-school, college, and large public libraries."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

Author Bio

LESLIE DERFLER is a Professor of History at Florida Atlantic University.