Daniel Singer (September 26, 1926 – December 2, 2000) was a socialist writer and journalist. He was best known for his articles for The Nation in the United States and for The Economist in Britain, serving for decades as a European correspondent for each magazine. Gore Vidal described Singer as "one of the best, and certainly the sanest, interpreters of things European for American readers", with a "Balzacian eye for human detail."

"If Marx had been living in Paris during May 1968, he might have written this book."—New Republic"An intimate and intricate account of the events in Paris by one who knew almost every cobblestone in the Latin Quarter."—Michael Foot"Daniel Singer is the left's most brilliant arsonist. He sets ablaze whole forests of dessicated cliches about the end of history' and the triumph of the market' in order to light the way forward for the next generation of radical thinkers and activists." -- Mike Davis"Daniel Singer is the premier progressive interpreter of European affairs. His courageous vision and sophisticated analysis gives us hope even in this ice age of fashionable neoliberalism and conservatism." -- Cornel West"I can think of no journalist more versed, more hip to what is happening in Europe today than Daniel Singer. -- Studs Terkel

• Preface viiPart One The meaning of May 1Part Two The Hidden Powder Keg 37University in Turmoil 41Society in Flux 69"A Class for Itself"? 91The Dynamics of Youth, or Angry Young Men 106Part Three The Explosion 113The Student Uprising (May 3–May 13) 115The Workers Take Over (May 14–May 27) 152How Not to Seize Power (May 27– May 31) 186From General Strike to General Election 206PART FOUR The Fallout 221No Peasants on Their Backs 223Anarchy and Dual Power 232The "New Proletarians"? 243Cultural Revolution 260The Would–Be Soviets 269The Negative Hero 276PART FIVE In Search of the Future 297The End of Marginalism 299Without a Model 322The Unwithering State 349Tests for a Strategy 365The International Dimension 389Age of Conflict or Age of Resolution? 404Abbreviations 411Index 415