On April 16, 2008, Mr. Winik delivered a talk on his new book, The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World, 1788–1800. As the 1790s began, a fragile American republic took its first uncertain steps, the Russian empire expanded, and France plunged into revolution. Jay Winik's new book, The Great Upheaval, illuminates how events in these three nations combined to change the course of civilization. Mr. Winik is the author of the best-selling April 1865. (Introduction by Charles F. Bryan, Jr.)