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Confronting Leviathan

A History of Ideas
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( 245 ratings, 33 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Confronting Leviathan by David Runciman draws on his History Of Ideas podcast to explore pivotal political thinkers and concepts that shape our modern world. Spanning figures from Hobbes to Gandhi and themes from democracy to patriarchy, the book reveals how crises like revolutions, wars, and pandemics have historically spurred new political ideas. It offers a clear, accessible history of political thought to illuminate contemporary challenges.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$2799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in political philosophy, history of ideas, and current political debates, suitable for both newcomers and those seeking deeper understanding of the state and its challenges.

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A primer on political theory from bestselling author and host of Talking Politics David Runciman.

A primer on political theory from bestselling author and host of Talking Politics David Runciman

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Bracingly intelligent ... a wonderful read - Guardian

Incredibly timely ... presented [with] wonderful elegance and clarity - Irish Times

Based on the History Of Ideas podcast series by Talking Politics host David Runciman, Confronting Leviathan explores some of the most important thinkers and prominent ideas lying behind modern politics - from Hobbes to Gandhi, from democracy to patriarchy, and from revolution to lockdown.

While explaining the most important and often-cited ideas of thinkers such as Constant, De Tocqueville, Marx and Engels, Hayek, MacKinnon and Fukuyama, David Runciman shows how crises - revolutions, wars, depressions, pandemics - generated these new ways of political thinking. This is a history of ideas to help make sense of what's happening today.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Mark Mazower calls it 'bracingly intelligent' and 'a wonderful read.' Paschal Donohoe praises its 'wonderful elegance and clarity' in presenting complex ideas, noting it makes thinking about the state genuinely enjoyable. Joshua Pugh Ginn describes it as a 'brilliant introduction for anyone looking to engage with political debates beyond the headlines.' Times Higher Education labels it 'a studiously accessible work.'

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781788167833

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 July 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Profile Books Ltd

Edition: Main

Illustration: integrated b/w photos

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 239g

Pages: 288

About the Author

David Runciman is Professor of Politics at Cambridge University. He is the author of six previous books, including Where Power Stops, How Democracy Ends, Political Hypocrisy and The Confidence Trap. He writes regularly for the London Review of Books and hosts the widely acclaimed weekly podcast Talking Politics, which has been downloaded 25 million times.

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  • How Democracy Ends
    Scintillating ... thought-provoking ... one of the very best of the great crop of recent books on the subject. - Observer Democracy has died hundreds of times, all over the world. We think we know what that looks like: chaos descends and the military arrives to restore order, until the people can be trusted to look after their own affairs...
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  • The Handover
    The Singularity is what Silicon Valley calls the idea that, eventually, we will be overrun by machines that are able to take decisions and act for themselves. What no one says is that it happened before. A few hundred years ago, humans started building the robots that now rule our world. They are called states and corporations: immensely powerful artificial...
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  • Political Hypocrisy
    What kind of hypocrite should voters choose as their next leader? The question seems utterly cynical. However, as David Runciman suggests, it is actually much more cynical to pretend that politics can ever be completely sincere. Political Hypocrisy is a timely and timeless book on the problems of sincerity and truth in politics, and how we can deal with them...
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  • The History of Ideas
    In this bold new follow-up to Confronting Leviathan, David Runciman unmasks modern politics and reveals the great men and women of ideas behind it. What can Samuel Butler's ideas teach us about the oddity of how we choose to organise our societies? How did Frederick Douglass not only expose the horrors of slavery, but champion a new approach to abolishing...
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  • The History of Ideas
    * THE TIMES BEST IDEAS BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2024 * 'A splendid book: economical, invigorating and surprising' - The Times 'He has that gift, both as a podcaster and as a writer, to illuminate abstruse and abstract ideas with human charm' - Observer In this bold new follow-up to Confronting Leviathan, David Runciman unmasks modern politics and reveals the...
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  • Politics: Ideas in Profile
    Ideas in Profile: Small Introductions to Big Topics In the first title of an exciting new series, one of the world's leading political scientists asks the big questions about politics: what is it, why do we need it, and where, in these turbulent times, is it heading? From the gap between rich and poor to the impact of social media,...
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  • The History of Ideas
    'A splendid book: economical, invigorating and surprising' - The Times 'He has that gift, both as a podcaster and as a writer, to illuminate abstruse and abstract ideas with human charm' - Observer In this bold new follow-up to Confronting Leviathan, David Runciman unmasks modern politics and reveals the great men and women of ideas behind it. What can Samuel...
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