Outstanding Academic Book Award, CHOICE Magazine (2008) WINNER – Morris D.Forkosch Prize for the best book in intellectual history,Journal of the History of Ideas (2008) The French revolts of May 1968, the largest general strike in twentieth-century Europe, were among the most famous and colourful episodes of the twentieth century. Julian Bourg argues that during the subsequent decade the revolts led to a remarkable paradigm shift in French thought – the concern for revolution in the 1960s was trans- formed into a fascination with ethics. Challenging the prevalent view that the 1960s did not have any lasting effect, From Revolution to Ethics shows how intellectuals and activists turned to ethics as the touchstone for understanding inter- personal, institutional, and political dilemmas. In absorbing and scrupulously researched detail Bourg explores the developing ethical fascination as it emerged among student Maoists courting ter- rorism, anti-psychiatric celebrations of madness, feminists mobilizing against rape, and pundits and philosophers championing humanitarianism. From Revolution to Ethics provides a com- pelling picture of how May 1968 helped make ethics a compass for navigating contemporary global concerns. In a new preface for the second edition published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the events, Bourg assesses the worldwide influ- ence of the ethical turn, from human rights to the return of religion and the new populism. Julian Bourg is associate dean for core curriculum and associate professor of history at Boston College. “No study of May 1968 – and they are legion – matches From Revolution to Ethics in combining impeccable historical research and scholarly judi- ciousness with an incessant underlying passion for the ethical project, complexly understood.” Peter Starr, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, American University 3 5 M Q U P F A L L 2 0 1 7 F R E N C H H I S T O R Y From Revolution to Ethics May 1968 and Contemporary French Thought, Second Edition julian bourg “An engrossing work, profound, thoughtful, and well written.” Jacques Szaluta, CHOICE S P E C I F I C AT I O N S November 2017 978-0-7735-5045-2 $29.95A CDN, $24.95A US, £20.99 paper 6 x 9 512pp eBook available