There have been acts of rebellion that changed the course of history and marked significant turning points. Revolutionary earthquakes shook the world. Our planet has never been the same again. Royalists and revolutionaries have left us written accounts of their political views. Contemporaries of these events produced a wealth of documentation. But their productions were quickly subjected to scrutiny. As with most crucial periods of human history, only dates are certain. We are certain that the people of Paris stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789. That fact belongs to history. The rest of what happened may be close to the truth. The number to whom I am indebted for historical advice and information is almost as large as the events I describe. As for contemporary events, I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of eyewitnesses who allowed me access to their stories and observations. In most cases, I have not named them at their specific request. Many of them had perspectives different from mine, but they contributed significantly to my understanding of the events. I thank them all. I do not claim to compete with the experts, nor to arrive at the definitive judgment that only history itself can provide. If I speak of what the reader will find in the pages of this book, he will find only my curiosity, astonishment, or even naivety. For the events in France, I researched the vast archives of the Ville de Paris. For Andreas Hofer and Pancho Villa, I traveled to their countries. For the chapter on Red October, I was able to rely on the invaluable assistance of a Russian source and recently gained access to KGB archives. The material on the fall of the Tsar was taken from the German Historical Institute. Regarding Operation Valkyrie, members of my family were contemporaries. I based my information on the Tokyo uprising on the stories of survivors, and on the tragic story of Che Guevara on my own personal observations. Regarding the Iranian Revolution, my acquaintances from Iran contributed their stories, as well as my various stays in Iran before, during, and after the revolution, including interviews with the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini.