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On Politics: A History Of Political Thought From Herodotus To The Present (2012)

by Alan Ryan(Favorite Author)

4.28 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0871404656 (ISBN13: 9780871404657)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Liveright

review 1: This is a very friendly, thorough survey of western political thought in historical context with a good review of the thought itself and the ways in which each philosopher and work draw from and are built upon by others. I particularly liked the chapter on Polybius and Cicero. Although there are no huge revelations here for anyone familiar with Western Civ, it makes for a comfortable rather than a pedantic reunion.
review 2: A long time ago when I first took a class in political theory, we used George Sabine's magnificent history. This book is a successor to Sabine (although I have heard that the Sabine book is being updated). It is a rich and wonderful book that I heartily recommend to anyone interest in classical approaches to political theory. The book ... moreis organized to chapters that focus on a particular author and all the real classics are represented from Herodotus and Thucydides through Marx. There is also a series of essays raising issues of importance to the 20th and 21st centuries that span the classic authors. The chapters were without exception well written, rich in content, and helpful in provided needed context for a thinker and his work. For some of the great political theorists, such as Plato, Aristotle, Rousseau, or Tocqueville, I would heartily recommend reading the originals where time and interest permit. For a variety of other authors (John of Salisbury), it might not be as worthwhile or even possible to read the original. For these cases and others, the book is extremely helpful at providing a serious review of the work and the information needed to place the author within a broader context of thinkers.This book is not a casual undertaking and readers need to pay attention. For those who wish to invest some effort in learning about political theory, this is one of the better possibilities around and superior to Fukuyama's recent volume. I found the book very worthwhile, however, and didn't mind spending the time to work through it. less

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