Hazan's account combines some fine vignettes about particular revolutionary episodes with a telling eye for detail; the maps of the different insurrections are also handy.

- Sudhir Hazareesingh, Times Literary Supplement

Indeed, until I read Eric Hazan's fascinating book, I too used to think that it was only during the French Revolution that the barricade stopped being a purely civilian object,designed primarily "to prevent admittance," like a modern swing-beam-type barrier or a turnstile. I was wrong. I feel like quoting endlessly from this revealing compact book, which, on top of everything else, is beautifully written and no-less beautifully translated. The idea of tracing centuries of tempestuous European history by looking just at one significant engineering object strikes me as brilliant. This little volume will find a prominent place in the 'golden shelf' of my favourite books of all time.

- Vitali Vitaliev, E&T Magazine

Hazan's short sharp book rises and falls like a battle cry and a keen of mourning both at once (...) For all the twilittonalities of Hazan's book, there is something joyous about it. It affirms that one of the options available to common people, one chosen over and over in the most desolate situations, is fighting back.

- Joshua Clover, LA Review of Books