The Power of Ideas: Second Edition

Description

Collects essays whose connecting theme is the crucial social and political role - past, present and future - of ideas, and of their progenitors. This book covers a variety of subject-matters - from philosophy to education, from Russia to Israel, from Marxism to romanticism - so that the truth of Heine's warning is exemplified on a broad front.

Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) was one of the leading intellectual historians of the twentieth century and the founding president of Wolfson College, University of Oxford. His many books include "The Hedgehog and the Fox", "The Crooked Timber of Humanity", "The Roots of Romanticism", and "Against the Current" (all Princeton). Henry Hardy, a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, is one of Isaiah Berlin's literary trustees. He has edited several other volumes by Berlin, and is currently preparing Berlin's letters and remaining unpublished writings for publication.

"A volume which covers the key areas of Berlin's interests in an unusually accessible way; it will take its place as, quite simply, the best short introduction to his thinking... [A]ll the arguments most closely associated with Berlin--above all, about freedom and human values--can be found here..."--Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph (London) "Berlin's views on such disparate topics as Marxism, romanticism, liberty and Zionism are all covered in this excellent collection of his essays... Ideas aren't what they used to be, but there is no one better able than Berlin to relate their glorious and not so glorious history. Each of the essays fulfils Raymond Carver's criterion for the short story: to leave the reader's body temperature a degree higher or lower than when the book was opened."--Nicholas Fearn, Independent on Sunday (London) "If he did nothing else, Berlin put the ideas back into history... This posthumous collection, containing some of his best work, show how seriously he took the task of inspiring the general reader."--Daniel Johnson, Daily Telegraph "The collection is thoroughly eclectic and engaging to read. You never know what the next morsel will taste of and, like a delectable plate of appetisers, the variety whets the appetite."--Judith Armstrong, Australian's Review of Books