An immensely stimulating canter through a major segment of Western political tradition.
A bracing history of two-plus centuries of modern Western conservative thought.
A companion to his well-received Liberalism (2014), Fawcett’s latest is as readable and comprehensive as its predecessor. The author, an editor and correspondent at the Economist for more than 30 years, begins with late-18th-century thinkers Edmund Burke and Joseph de Maistre, using them as examples, respectively, of moderate and radical conservatism. This motif—of different strands of conservatism—pervades the narrative until Fawcett ends with today’s “hard right.” While many familiar figures fill the survey, part of the narrative’s strength lies in the author’s exhumation of long-forgotten conservative thinkers, including William Mallock, Charles Hodge, August Rehberg, and F.H. Bradley, among many others. While explanation of the thinking of others is Fawcett’s strong suit, he never fails to offer criticisms of the thought and actions of those he believes warrant them. Fair toward everyone while skeptical about many, he’s alarmed by those who’ve recently joined the “rightward rush from the liberal-democratic status quo.” The narrative suffers somewhat from a lack of more information about such influential conservative thinkers as Samuel P. Huntington and Robert A. Nisbet, but the author’s broad scope and inclusivity allow him to effectively examine not only the genuine contribution of modern conservative thought, but also the unfortunate results of a variety of relevant historical currents—especially regarding the far right today. “As a left-wing liberal,” writes Fawcett, “I do not claim that this history is neutral. I trust it is objective. I have tried to avoid two standbys of political writing, celebration and caricature.” Ultimately, it’s hard to argue with the author’s concern about the recent darkening of conservatism and its surrender of the high ground of thought and action. He concludes with useful appendices on the sources of conservatism, its principal keywords and concepts, and a 60-page, detailed gazetteer of its leading figures.
An immensely stimulating canter through a major segment of Western political tradition.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-691-17410-5
Page Count: 514
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
For Howard Zinn, long-time civil rights and anti-war activist, history and ideology have a lot in common. Since he thinks that everything is in someone's interest, the historian—Zinn posits—has to figure out whose interests he or she is defining/defending/reconstructing (hence one of his previous books, The Politics of History). Zinn has no doubts about where he stands in this "people's history": "it is a history disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements of resistance." So what we get here, instead of the usual survey of wars, presidents, and institutions, is a survey of the usual rebellions, strikes, and protest movements. Zinn starts out by depicting the arrival of Columbus in North America from the standpoint of the Indians (which amounts to their standpoint as constructed from the observations of the Europeans); and, after easily establishing the cultural disharmony that ensued, he goes on to the importation of slaves into the colonies. Add the laborers and indentured servants that followed, plus women and later immigrants, and you have Zinn's amorphous constituency. To hear Zinn tell it, all anyone did in America at any time was to oppress or be oppressed; and so he obscures as much as his hated mainstream historical foes do—only in Zinn's case there is that absurd presumption that virtually everything that came to pass was the work of ruling-class planning: this amounts to one great indictment for conspiracy. Despite surface similarities, this is not a social history, since we get no sense of the fabric of life. Instead of negating the one-sided histories he detests, Zinn has merely reversed the image; the distortion remains.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1979
ISBN: 0061965588
Page Count: 772
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1979
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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