No comments about A New Life Of Dante.

2 comments about Isaiah Berlin.

1. This book came out in the mid 1990s right when the biggest debates were dealing with cultural diversity and affirmative action. No book not even this one can capture the essence and writings of Berlin's writing that expanded nearly six decades yet it provides a fresh analysis of his ideas to those who aren't familiar with the 'history of ideas' and unleashed in the public debate about what to do about the remnants of liberalism and multiculturalism in this day and age. I recommend buying this highly.



2. For some reason, the other reviews, with one exception, are not reviews of John Gray's, "Isaiah Berlin;" they are instead reviews of a compilation of Berlin's writing, "Four Essays on Liberty." I don't know how this happened, but I will review Gray's book, ISBN 0691026351.
   
   Gray presents a compact (168 pages) intellectual biography of Berlin, an affectionate, fair, yet critical survey of his thought and works. It is an excellent resource, and it provides the reader with the background and context necessary for understanding Berlin's rather voluminous and disparate writings. This is especially valuable, as Berlin was a loquacious and sometimes untidy writer, circling around, over, and back through his ideas in way that some may find confusing more than clarifying. In fact, his key ideas were not that many, and not that difficult to grasp, when set out as carefully as Gray sets them out.
   
   If you want more narrative of Berlin's very interesting life, you should consider Michael Ignatieff's, "Isaiah Berlin: A Life," which is also superbly done. Gray concentrates on Berlin's ideas, summarizing the whole of his life in one paragraph in the Introduction.

No comments about Brazil through the Eyes of William James: Diaries, Letters, and Drawings, 1865-1866 (David Rockefeller Center Series on Latin American Studies).

1 comments about The Heidegger-Jaspers Correspondence (1920-1963) (Contemporary Studies in Philosophy and the Human Sciences.).

1. The history of 20th century German philosophy can be neatly summed up in three words: Husserl, Heidegger and Jaspers. They were the giants of the rich philosophical tradition and most of 20the century thought is influenced by them, either as followers who adapted their thought to other paths or as opponents, deriding what was seen as a preponderence of metaphysics over "clear thinking."

   The emphasis on Heidegger in recent years has expanded into an investigation of his personal life, intertwined as it was with the Nazi regime during the '30s. We have access to the Arendt-Jaspers correspondence, but only get to know Heidegger second-hand. That is why the release of the Heidegger-Jaspers correspondence is a tresure for every student of philosophy. Not only do we gain valuable insights into the workings of each author's conception of existentialism, but we also get to soak in the atmosphere of German university life, and its view of scholarship, so different from our own universities today, which now serve as little else than extensions of high school.

   The letters also give us the opportunity to see how the Heidegger-Japsers friendship fared over the years. (The letters are from 1920 to 1963.) During the '20s, the two are very close and share critiques of each others philosphy. During the '30s, with the rise of the Nazis, we see a cooling off due to the fact Heidegger sides with the Nazis and Jaspers, whose wife was Jewish,was appalled by what was happening to Germany. Very few letters are exchanged during the period from 1936 to 1948, when Heidegger, by now defanged by the Allied occupation, once again ventures into the public eye. The letters of this perios lack the warmth of the letters from the '20s, with Heidegger wishing to forget what happened in the '30s and Jaspers wanting an explanation.

   This is an unforgettable foray into the livers anf thought of two giants of twentieth century philosophy, and, as such, is a must for every philosophical library.

1 comments about Paolo Sarpi: Between Renaissance and Enlightenment.

1. David Wootton's book, Paolo Sarpi: Between Renaissance and Enlightenment, barely does justice to the great man and intellectual known as Paolo Sarpi. Throughout the book, Wootton contradicts his primary argument (that Sarpi is an athiest or a Gnostic) and doesn't use solid arguments to back his claim. His argument is based his view of Sarpi's arguments in his Pensiero filosofico. This being said, the book does include some good information on Sarpi and his arguments. I used the book as a source for a twenty-page research paper on Sarpi and his role during the Papal Interdict of 1606 and I found it useful for this paper. Overall, though containing some good information, the book was rather disappointing. Wootton's lack of evidence for his argument and his blatant contradiction of this argument later in the book outweigh any good information the book contains.
   (Disclaimer: In the spirit of full disclosure, I was skeptical about Wootton's argument upon first hearing it, since every other source I had read seemed to prove otherwise. No other source that I used backed Wootton's argument.)

No comments about The Solitary Self: Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Exile and Adversity.

1 comments about C.s. Lewis The Story Teller (Trail Blazers).

1. Watching the film 'Shadowlands', or seeing the play of the same name, gives you the impression that Lewis was remote and awkward around people.

   Reading this fine youth biography shows you that underneath he had an innate sense of wonder that was stifled by his upbringing and work. It found an outlet in his books for children and camaraderie with the 'Inkspots'.

   This is a revealing biography because it is written for young people. A suitable vehicle for finding out about the author of the Narnia Chronicles! I found it much less precious than other books on Lewis - probably because this was written by a fellow native Northern Irishman, rather than a fan.

   It also wrecks several pompous academic careers by including a letter from Lewis to a young girl, explaining what each of the Narnia books is about.

   Moving, heartwarming and fun.

1 comments about Pierre Bourdieu: Education and Training (Continuum Library of Educational Thought).

1. This book is excellent. It is particularly helpful for those who may be only slightly familar with Bourdieu's work. Its value is that is examines the corpus of Bourdieu's work and trains the theory on education. Last, it is extremely accessible.
   
   Helen Foster

1 comments about Auguste Comte: Volume 1: An Intellectual Biography (Auguste Comte Intellectual Biography).

1. Very good summary. Pickering captures the compelxity of the intellectual traditions that affected the formation of the Comtean philosophy. She shows the continuity that stems from the ambiguous legacy of the Revolution. But, at the same time, by concentrating on the continuity of his thought, Pickering does not seem to fully account for the discrepancy over which some of the disciples of Comte had to break from the master. Maybe in her next volume, she would make a good case of it.

No comments about On Russell (Wadsworth Philosophers Series).