J. G. A. Pocock (1924–2023)

This is easily one of ten most influential books in my life. The author traces the origins and development of 16th-century Italian political thought and its transmission to a very different political culture in 17th-century England, painting a very thorough picture of how different thinkers wrestled with their own and each others' frameworks for understanding, interpreting, and discussing the political worlds they inhabited. The book is very tough going - Pocock's style is not the easiest to show more read - but if you get through it, it will dramatically alter and expand your understanding of political thinking. show less

As usual in a collection of essays, two were very interesting, another two were on specialist topics of no interest and the remaining six or seven were more or less boring disquisitions on a variety of topics relating to the history of political thought. The author seems to be broad-minded and I admire the way he weaves together history and philosophy, but there's not much insight to be had from essays which all start from different points and proceed only a few steps forward. I wish he show more could have written a full-length book on the methodological inquiry of the first essay instead. show less

Reviewed by J. C. D. Clark for H-Net here:

http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=21340957377848