Reseña de Choise

Scott (Univ. of St. Andrews, Scotland) is already well known for some very useful collections on both enlightened absolutism and the nobilities of the ancien regime, and a survey with Derek McKay, The Rise of the Great Powers, 1648-1815 (CH, Dec'83). One would have hoped that this book, published in the vaunted "Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History" series (which Scott co-edits), would have added to that reputation with an original and significant scholarly contribution. Alas, there is very little that is new or important in this sterile diplomatic narrative. Admittedly, there is a fascination with the emergence of the term "great power" and expansive (though unjustified) allusions to a "partition of Europe"; the author also reemphasizes the commonplace dichotomy between the aggressive Eastern powers and their Western counterfoils. But the volume is dominated by a chronologically arranged recounting of diplomatic minutiae drawn from mostly British and American secondary sources. Chapters generally conclude merely by summing up the chronology and justifying why the author chose to begin a new chapter at that particular point. Even the book's dismal conclusion simply recapitulates developments, updates the reader on where each of the three Eastern powers stood in 1775, and foreshadows what is going to happen next. Hopefully, not in a sequel. Faculty only. C. Ingrao Purdue University