Smith is terribly biased but thought provoking. His survey of influential books is based on what he views are the texts yielding the most far-reaching changes on civilization, not necessarily the best or most important. As a result his short essays can veer into dismissiveness and arrogance, but when he gets it right, his prose does a great job of summing up a dense idea. A book to be browsed rather than studied. Annoying feature: no bibliography or notes. ( )