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A History of Ideas: The most intriguing, relevant and helpful concepts from the story of humanity

A collection of humanity’s most inspiring ideas throughout time, bringing perspective to the challenges and wonders of being alive.

This is an unusual sort of history book: a history of ideas – and not just any old ideas, ideas from across time and space that are best suited to healing, enchanting and reviving us.

Along the way, we travel around the world, from the very beginnings of our species right up to the modern age. We hear about the Ancient Greeks and Romans, we learn about Buddhism and Islam, we acquire ideas from Hinduism and the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment and Modernity. Deliberately eclectic, the book gives us a panoramic, 3,000-year view over the finest insights of a diversity of civilisations. 

Every idea hangs off an image – it could be a place, a document, a building or a work of art – that has something very specific to teach us. There are ideas here that will stick in our minds because they can help to answer the biggest puzzles we may have: about the direction of our lives, the issues of relationships, the meaning of existence. 

The book amounts to a feast for the intellect and the imagination – to make us into the best sorts of historians, those who know how to use the past to shed light on their own lives.

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Mark Bevir establishes the framework and rationale for his tremendously ambitious book on the first page of the Preface (p. ix) when he says he draws on analytic philosophy to study the forms of reasoning appropriate to the history of ideas. He privileges what he calls logical and normative (as opposed to historical, sociological or psychological) analysis later referring to it as a post-analytic philosophy or anti-foundationalism. This procedure is given priority over the ontological hermeneutic tradition (chiefly of Gadamer) and provides his chosen route to the justification and explanation of understanding. He is careful to disclaim that what he is doing is incompatible with that other tradition arguing they can be complementary as different approaches to different issues. In contrast to the Skinner-Pocock school of textual interpretation Bevir argues no single method can logically prise open meaning objectively. Based on this belief is his reading of epistemologists and philosophers of the mind like the later Wittgenstein and Davidson.

In pursuing his substantial objective - to explain the logic of the history of ideas - in Wittgensteinian fashion the author attempts first to establish the reasoning and concepts associated with it. Bevir calls this the grammar of its concepts that can be determined by both deductive and inductive arguments (p. 2). Very quickly Bevir lays his cards on the table with his claim (in the context of his explication of the failings of analytical philosophy) that 'all our knowledge arises...in the context of our particular web of beliefs' (p. 5). Following Rorty, Bevir suggests that especially in its logical-positivist incarnation, all roads lead away from analytical philosophy (and Descartes and Kant), towards anti-foundationalism. As he says, he will 'go along with the anti-foundational (or post-analytic) conclusion that there are no given truths' (p. 6). However, while he eschews 'the given' both empirically and rationally, or any ultimate or privileged representation, he draws back from and positively rejects 'the irrationalist anti-foundationalism found in post-structuralists and post-modernists such as Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Jean François-Lyotard' (p. 6). This is the essential pivot of Bevir's position. In his effort to demonstrate through his version of the logic of the history of ideas, in which he blurs the distinction between synthetic and analytic propositional forms of knowledge, he attempts to construct and walk a middle road.

This middle road is predicated on Bevir's insistence that the logic of a discipline consists in a normative account of its logic or reasoning, and that invoking historical examples of reasoning simply serve to confuse the issue. In his analysis (of the abstract nature of logics) Bevir claims books like Collingwood's The Idea of History and White's Metahistory confuse the matter by ignoring the logic of explanation which is, of course, the logic of justified belief (deduction and induction). What Bevir tries to do, therefore, is provide a single form of justification that will compromise the synthetic/scientific/empirical and analytical/philosophic/rational forms of knowledge. Because this cannot be done by appeal to 'the given' or accurate representation, it can only be done by an appeal to 'the nature of our being in the world' (p.18). This is explained by a rebuttal of Hayden White's position that historians have no rational grounds for choosing one philosophy of history over another. Bevir suggests White's judgement that our reasons are aesthetic/tropic rather than, as White has recently suggested, logico-deductive (White 2000: 393) should lead him to accept that his choice of explanation in fact commits himself to a particular logic (which undermines his scepticism about knowing truthful things).

The strategy Bevir deploys to pursue his aim, which he does with a doggedness that is remarkable, a clarity of thought which is to be much admired, and a belief in his own abilities that is often breathtaking, is to offer chapter length examinations of the concepts of meaning, objectivity, and belief (the objects of study of the historian of ideas and the essential elements of his grammar of concepts), and synchronic and diachronic forms of explanation and what he calls distortions. By these examinations, and through the application of his 'logic', Bevir offers a valuable insight into the nature of historical thinking and its rethinking.

In his first exploration called 'on meaning', he addresses the nature of intentionalism (strong and weak versions) concluding that he has provided the 'core of a theory of historical meaning' that derives from an individual's weak intentionality in their individual utterances/viewpoints (pp. 76-7). How can the historian of ideas reconstruct the weak intentions of agents objectively? How can we really know what the intentions of the utterer were? By opposing objectivism and scepticism (fixed as the extremes of post-modernist relativism and irrationalism and foundationalist objectivism) Bevir concludes there is a middle road based on 'human practice'. This is Bevir's recognition that while we cannot be certain as to the grounds for what is good history, we can be reasonably sure about our knowledge of past intentions - his definition of objectivity - by comparing and contrasting competing rival webs of theories about meaning. We can also relate objectivity to truth because of what he calls his anthropological epistemology, that is, as he say 'because our ability to find our way around the world vouches for the broad content of our perceptions' (p. 109). Again Bevir walks - but more assuredly now - the middle road. Following on from his position that just because historians are implicated in the act of historical knowing, it does not mean they cannot have objective knowledge of the past, Bevir moves to his analysis of belief. Working from his argument that we can justify objective knowing through fallible 'human practice' and his intentional theory of historical meaning Bevir concludes that sincere, conscious and rational beliefs can be entertained if one does not also hold absolutist expectations of truthfulness. Hence we can explain intentionality in terms of the reasonable expectation of individuals holding such beliefs.

Bevir next explains the nature of the forms of explanation deployed within the history of ideas first what he calls synchronic explanation. This he argues is the formulation or description of the webs of belief held by historians of ideas. This he explains with reference to the connections between tradition and agency. Bevir then attempts to explain how people develop, depart from and change their (inherited, traditional) webs of belief historically, i.e., diachronically. Because people have agency the historian of ideas must have an explanation that accounts for the exercise of that faculty. Bevir uses the concept of the dilemma to explain how rational people change their minds and adapt/adopt new beliefs/webs of belief while remaining sincere, conscious and rational. Bevir concludes his study with an assessment of the irrational, unconscious and deceitful distortions of belief that intrude upon any explanation in the history of ideas. He suggests historians can explain such distortions (deception, self-deception and irrationality) by first recognising such distortions and arguing they arose as logical consequences of the grammar of his concepts. Defined as rogue pro-attitudes explained within the folk-psychology of reason, desire or need. People will the distortions.

Bevir concludes his grand tour of the grammar of concepts and forms of explanation that deploy them by applying his logic to his own explanation. This is Socratic undertaking and an interesting procedure, and one I applaud up to a point. In a sense of course it is just a rationalisation within the terms established within the book and it cannot, therefore, be taken a serious reconsideration, and it certainly isn't a refutation of itself. The implications for the broader field of historical studies of Bevir's explanation of distorted beliefs cast as it is within a framework of rational action theory, is interesting in that it is, as I am sure many historians will point out, a statement of the blindingly obvious (p. 316). Historians 'know' from their own experience of folk psychology how deviancy can be explained and used to explain people's actions at a 'common sense' psychological level. Do historians need to be told how people behave in the ways described and codified by Bevir?

In his rejection of the given - empirical or rational - Bevir pursues his own middle of the road logic or grammar of those concepts operating in the discipline against a background of webs of beliefs. This activity of the justification of meaning and explanation is neither material nor linguistic, it is conceptual. The obvious question is whether you can have a logic or grammar of the concepts used in a discipline, especially history. The other question is, assuming you can have a grammar, has Bevir described it? Are there others? Indeed it is possible to offer detailed criticisms of each of the concepts as defined by Bevir in his grammar. Does he, for example, give adequate attention to Nietzsche's critique of objectivity, i.e., perspectivism? Why should we accept the basic premise of rational action theory? Bevir would, of course, say not to means falling into the miasma of post-structuralism and that is irrational.

Many historians will share Bevir's anti-foundational, liberal and non-reductionist position. Almost certainly the majority of historians would agree with him that our existence is affected/mediated by our concepts and that there is no absolute extra-discursive ground for knowing, that all texts are interpreted within the skein of our webs of ontological commitments, and they would certainly endorse his dismissive attitude toward the 'irrationalism' of postmodern approaches. What would make them less happy is his rejection of the correspondence theory of knowledge. These historians - what elsewhere I have called constructionist historians - would be unhappy with his assumption of rational action theory as the centre of historical understanding. Placing the individual making rational choices in a chaotic world at the centre of historical explanation is for most of them, frankly, unconvincing. To then build a whole logic of historical explanation on it is juvenile. To be more charitable, however, Bevir's position is simply very unfashionable. At worst it denies the role of structure, power, and the embedded nature of irrationalism in both motivation and argument (not as a descent from the ideal but the everyday practice of historical agents) in understanding and explaining the past. I suspect the majority of historians would say Bevir's efforts, though clever, could only be written by a non-practitioner or, even more alarmingly, by the naïve reconstructionist members of the profession.

Central to Bevir's undertaking is the very important question of agent intentionality. He seems to be defending the idea (hermeneuticist in inspiration) that we can accurately interpret the author's meaning when they wrote a text. He roundly attacks Pocock's and Skinner's view that we should take into account context and language rather than authorial intention in doing this (semantic as opposed to hermeneutic meaning). Bevir comes down on the side of 'weak intentionalism' that is the middle of the road position. So it is he establishes his ramparts against all-comers from post-structuralists to materialists. Bevir is not afraid of a fight. This is a good thing as the flaw in his argument (which can be pointed out by all and sundry - and no doubt will be) may be that his equation of meaning with a weak (or strong for that matter) version of intention. In a nutshell, it is possible to argue that just because an utterance is made, it need not necessarily express an intention. Knowing the intention of the author is of no use in determining what the text means unless you accept that intention does equate with meaning. Arguably, in history we have to make up our meanings unless we believe they pre-exist in the data/text and we can, therefore, 'discover' them.

For all its complexities and what for many will be his failings, not least Bevir's unqualified belief in rationalism over irrationalism, sincerity of insincerity and the conscious over the unconscious, the questions his book addresses are important to historians in their everyday work. Of course, those historians who harbour an anti-theory bias will never read it. The very title will put them off. Locate 'logic', 'history' and 'ideas' together in a book title and it is the kiss of death so far as most jobbing historians are concerned. For the majority, I fear, being a good historian does not mean knowing anything about logic, much less the history of ideas. But such a pre-judgement would be quite wrong. Bevir's explorations are useful reminders of the complex nature of agent intentionality, objectivity and belief. From the middle of the road Bevir is able to offer assistance to those who want to believe in the (more or less) accurate knowability of the past. Of course, if you walk down the middle of the road you are also very likely to get knocked over. But I think Bevir knows that and is ready to take the risk.

Note: A detailed examination of The Logic of the History of Ideas is to be found in Rethinking History: The Journal of Theory and Practice , 2000, 4.3: 295-350.

• White, Hayden (2000), 'An Old Question Raised Again: Is Historiography Art or Science?', Rethinking History: The Journal of Theory and Practice , 4.3, 391-406.
• Munslow, Alun (1997) Deconstructing History , Routledge: London and New York. February 2000

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Created Autumn 2001 by the Institute of Historical Research . Copyright notice .

Journal of the History of Ideas

Edited by Manan Ahmed, Martin J. Burke, Stefanos Geroulanos, Ann E. Moyer, Sophie Smith, Don J. Wyatt

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• ISSN: 0022-5037
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Since its inception in 1940, the Journal of the History of Ideas has served as a medium for the publication of research in intellectual history that is of common interest to scholars and students in a wide range of fields. It is committed to encouraging diversity in regional coverage, chronological range, and methodological approaches. JHI defines intellectual history expansively and ecumenically, including the histories of philosophy, of literature and the arts, of the natural and social sciences, of religion, and of political thought. It also encourages scholarship at the intersections of cultural and intellectual history — for example, the history of the book and of visual culture.

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Recently published JHI review essays

Steven Nadler,  “The Many Lives of René Descartes” Sarah Johnson,  “Farewell to The German Ideology” Alisa Zhulina,  “The Tyrant and the Martyr: Recent Research on Sovereignty and Theater”

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• How might this article be improved? How substantial are your recommendations for revision? Might such revisions produce a version that would merit publication in the JHI ?

The  Journal of the History of Ideas  awards the  Selma V. Forkosch Prize  ($750) for the best article published in the journal each year.

The winner of the  JHI ‘s  Selma V.  Forkosch   Prize  for the best article published in 2022 is Dan Edelstein for “ A ‘Revolution’ in Political Thought: Translations of Polybius Book 6 and the Conceptual History of Revolution ” (volume 83, no. 1, pp. 17–40).

This paper excels in historical erudition, philological rigor, and conceptual clarity. It traces the history of the concept of revolution as a political category down to ancient times, to Polybius’s Book 6 and Aristotle’s notion of anacyclosis where it already stood for political change. In Aristotle, the political dimension of the concept was still related to the ideas of revolt and sedition, and not yet conceived as indicating a world-historical event. Likewise, all of the elements of the modern concept of revolution were already in Polybius and his many commentors, although with the implication that revolution had to be avoided and mixed government was the way to keep this danger at bay.  It was the re-interpretation of Polybius’s ideas that, for Edelstein, paved the way to incorporate a new temporal dimension to it and eventually conceive of revolutions as the means of solving political problems and improving the future. Revolution is thus transformed from a disturbance of social life into the solution to the ills of modern politics. This article helps us rethink Koselleck’s theory of the temporalization of concepts between ca. 1750 and ca. 1850. Overall, this is an article that straddles the history of scholarship and political theory in a grand way one does not often see.

For a list of the  Selma V. Forkosch  prize winners  click here .

The  Journal of the History of Ideas  awards the  Morris D. Forkosch Prize  ($2,500) for the best book in intellectual history each year.

The winner of the JHI ’s  Morris D. Forkosch Prize  for the best first book in intellectual history (2022) is  Nathan Vedal for  The Culture of Language in Ming China: Sound, Script, and the Redefinition of Boundaries of Knowledg e ( Columbia University Press , 2022).

The judging committee provides the following statement:

This year’s winner of the Morris D. Forkosch Book Prize is Nathan Vedal for his book  The Culture of Language in Ming China: Sound, Script, and the Redefinition of Boundaries of Knowledge , published in 2022 by Columbia University Press . Recent years have witnessed a close reexamination of the early modern history of Chinese philology, to which Vedal’s volume makes an extraordinary contribution. Based on sources, primary and secondary, in a plethora of languages, Vedal draws attention to the distinctive work of Chinese scholars in the latter part of the Ming dynasty, drawing on work in the fields of the history of science, comparative linguistics, music, cosmology, and more. While studies of the Chinese language have blossomed in recent years, Vedal’s work stands out for its great breadth and depth, attending to a multitude of better- and lesser-known scholars, and the unexpected connections at play in their theories of language. Honorable mention for the 2022 prize: Mackenzie Cooley,   The Perfection of Nature: Animals, Breeding, and Race in the Renaissance  ( University of Chicago Press ).

Eligible submissions are limited to the  first book  published by a single author, and to books published in English. The subject matter of submissions must pertain to one or more of the disciplines associated with intellectual history and the history of ideas broadly conceived: viz., history (including the histories of the various arts and sciences); philosophy (including the philosophy of science, aesthetics, and other fields); political thought; the social sciences (including anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology); and literature (including literary criticism, history and theory). 

No translations or collections of essays will be considered. The judges will favor publications displaying sound scholarship, original conceptualization, and significant chronological and interdisciplinary scope. 

Submissions (three copies of each nominated book) are accepted directly from publishers or directly from authors.  The deadline to submit books published in 2023 is March 1, 2024.

If you wish to nominate a book, please contact the JHI ‘s managing editor, Ida Stewart, at  [email protected]  for a shipping address and additional information.

For a list of the  Morris D. Forkosch prize winners click here. .

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Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud

Published in the United States as: Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention from Fire to Freud

In this hugely ambitious and exciting book Peter Watson tells the history of ideas from prehistory to the present day, leading to a new way of telling the history of the world. The book begins over a million years ago with a discussion of how the earliest ideas might have originated. Looking at animal behaviour that appears to require some thought – tool-making, territoriality, counting, language (or at least sounds), pairbonding – Peter Watson moves on to the apeman and the development of simple ideas such as cooking, the earliest language, the emergence of family life. All the core areas are tackled – the Ancient Greeks, Christian theology, the ideas of Jesus, astrological thought, the soul, the self, beliefs about the heavens, the ideas of Islam, the Crusades, humanism, the Renaissance, Gutenberg and the book, the scientific revolution, the age of discovery, Shakespeare, the idea of Revolution, the Romantic imagination, Darwin, imperialism, modernism, Freud right up to the present day and the internet. But the book also looks delves into some original and innovative areas – the rise of accuracy (why it happened when it did and why it mattered), early understandings of time, how ideas in the New World differed from those in the Old.

Reviews of Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud

"A grand book … The history of ideas deserves treatment on this scale."

Evening Standard

"A masterpiece of historical writing."

New Statesman

• Non-Fiction Book Reviews

A History of Ideas by The School of Life – Book Review

A History of Ideas

• Publisher – The School of Life
• Release Date – 6th April 2023
• Pages – 248
• ISBN 13 – 978-1912891962
• Format – Hardcover
• Star Rating – 4

I received a free copy of this book. This post contains affiliate links.

A collection of humanity’s most inspiring ideas throughout time, bringing perspective to the challenges and wonders of being alive.

This is an unusual sort of history book: a history of ideas – and not just any old ideas, ideas from across time and space that are best suited to healing, enchanting and reviving us.

Along the way, we travel around the world, from the very beginnings of our species right up to the modern age. We hear about the Ancient Greeks and Romans, we learn about Buddhism and Islam, we acquire ideas from Hinduism and the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment and Modernity. Deliberately eclectic, the book gives us a panoramic, 3,000-year view over the finest insights of a diversity of civilisations.

Every idea hangs off an image – it could be a place, a document, a building or a work of art – that has something very specific to teach us. There are ideas here that will stick in our minds because they can help to answer the biggest puzzles we may have: about the direction of our lives, the issues of relationships, the meaning of existence.

The book amounts to a feast for the intellect and the imagination – to make us into the best sorts of historians, those who know how to use the past to shed light on their own lives.

Review by Stacey

A History of Ideas by The School of Life is a commendable non-fiction book that contains a collection of inspiring ideas throughout time. The book is split into seven sections. Some sections are different historical periods, others continents, and lastly different religions.

Starting with historiography (the history of history), each double-page represents something different and in various timelines. Beginning with a painting that was commissioned in the mid-18th century for the entrance to a private library featuring the Greek Goddess of Wisdom Athena, along with the figure of Truth titled ‘Truth and Wisdom Assist History in Writing’. We then move forward to 1979 and the Grammy Awards and how the wise teach us to look for patterns. This is a book that doesn’t stay in one era for long, jumping back and forth.

The book is very clever and tailored for individuals with a fervour for history or philosophy. It commands the reader’s attention and yet conveys the message of each section in just a few words and with one image. It does at times make you have to read passages over and over again to fully understand what the idea is that is being conveyed to the reader.

Overall, this is an unusual book that someone very knowledgeable would love. It is a book that makes the reader stop and think. It is not a collection of tales about how the wheel came about etc. It is a collection of things such as the idea that reading a book cannot possibly – or for long – change anyone’s thoughts or behaviour. It is a philosopher’s dream book!

Purchase Online:

• Amazon.co.uk

The School of Life

The School of Life is a groundbreaking enterprise which offers good ideas for everyday living. It address such issues as how to find fulfilling work, how to master the art of relationships and how better to understand, and as necessary change, the world – through classes, therapies, books and films. It is headquartered in London, with campuses in Melbourne, Paris, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Belgrade, Antwerp, Seoul, Tel Aviv.

The above links are affiliate links. I receive a very small percentage from each item you purchase via these links, which is at no extra cost to you. If you are thinking about purchasing the book, please think about using one of the links. All money received goes back into the blog and helps to keep it running. Thank you.

Tags: Amazon Author Blackwells Book Book Blog Book Blogger Book Review Book Reviewer Four Stars hardcover Non Fiction Review Stacey The School of Life

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Book Reviews by subject: History of Ideas

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Enthusiasm and its discontents, the end of enlightenment: empire, commerce, crisis, by richard whatmore, jonathan wolff, tomorrow is another election, in the long run: the future as a political idea, by jonathan white, richard v reeves, why some are more equal than others, equality: the history of an elusive idea, by darrin m mcmahon, darrin m mcmahon, adam smith the socialist, visions of inequality: from the french revolution to the end of the cold war, by branko milanovic, traders in our midst, free market: the history of an idea, by jacob soll, alexandra gajda, method in the melancholy, the elizabethan mind: searching for the self in an age of uncertainty, by helen hackett, timothy w ryback, bonfires of reason, burning the books: a history of knowledge under attack, by richard ovenden, richard vinen, history boys, conservative revolutionary: the lives of lewis namier, by d w hayton, sir john plumb: the hidden life of a great historian, by neil mckendrick, tim whitmarsh, in defence of reason, the history of philosophy, by a c grayling, a c grayling, a prodigious feat, terrible beauty: a history of the people & ideas that shaped the modern world, by peter watson, frank mclynn, what’s the big idea, out of our minds: what we think and how we came to think it, by felipe fernández-armesto, the joys of enlightenment, power, pleasure, and profit: insatiable appetites from machiavelli to madison, by david wootton, nicholas roe, the birth of romance, a revolution of feeling: the decade that forged the modern mind, by rachel hewitt, jonathan rée, experimental thinking, pain, pleasure, and the greater good: from the panopticon to the skinner box and beyond, by cathy gere, rooms with a view, grand hotel abyss: the lives of the frankfurt school, by stuart jeffries, richard bourke, rational selections, the dream of enlightenment: the rise of modern philosophy, by anthony gottlieb, ian mcbride, dublin’s new dawn, the irish enlightenment, by michael brown, charles elliott, the eleventh’s hour, everything explained that is explainable: on the creation of the encyclopaedia britannica’s celebrated eleventh edition, 1910–1911, by denis boyles, time out of mind, empires of time – calendars, clocks and cultures, by anthony aveni, richard cavendish, the history which never happened, mythology of the british isles, by geoffrey ashe, this new age business, by peter lemesurier, sign up to our newsletter.

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History of Ideas

David runciman’s acclaimed series of introductions to the most important thinkers and ideas behind modern politics. it’s now part of david’s new weekly podcast, past present future , in which david talks to historians, novelists, scientists and politicians about where the most interesting ideas come from, what they mean, and why they matter. then once a month, he’ll focus on one of the great political essayists, starting with montaigne. these new  history of ideas  solo talks will be posted here, along with an archive of previous episodes, and links to further reading in the  lrb  archive..

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Great Political Fictions: ‘Fathers and Sons’

David runciman, 23 february 2024.

This week’s Great Political Fiction is Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons (1862), the definitive novel about the politics – and emotions – of intergenerational conflict.

Great Political Fictions: ‘Mary Stuart’

David runciman, 22 february 2024.

This week’s Great Political Fiction is Friedrich Schiller’s monumental play Mary Stuart (1800), which lays bare the impossible choices faced by two queens – Elizabeth I of England and Mary Queen of Scots – in a world of men.

Great Political Fictions: ‘Gulliver’s Travels’

This week’s episode on the great political fictions is about Jonathan Swift’s  Gulliver’s Travels  (1726) – part adventure story, part satire of early-eighteenth-century party politics, but above all a coruscating reflection on the failures of human perspective and self-knowledge.

Great Political Fictions: ‘Coriolanus’

In the first episode of our new series on the great political fictions, David talks about Shakespeare’s Coriolanus (1608-9), the last of his tragedies and perhaps his most politically contentious play.

Ta-Nehisi Coates

In the penultimate episode in our series on the great essays, David talks about Ta-Nehisi Coates’s ‘The Case for Reparations’, published in the Atlantic in 2014. Black American life has been marked by injustice from the beginning: this essay explores what can – and what can’t – be done to remedy it, from slavery to the housing market, from Mississippi to Chicago. Plus, what has this story got to do with the origins of the state of Israel?

Umberto Eco

This week’s episode in our series on the great essays and great essayists explores Umberto Eco’s ‘Thoughts on Wikileaks’ (2010). Eco writes about what makes a true scandal, what are real secrets, and what it would mean to expose the hidden workings of power. It is an essay that connects digital technology, medieval mystery and Dan Brown. Plus David talks about the hidden meaning of Julian Assange.

David Foster Wallace

This week’s episode in our series on the great political essays is about David Foster Wallace’s ‘Up, Simba!’, which describes his experiences following the doomed campaign of John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. Wallace believed that McCain’s distinctive political style revealed some hard truths about American democracy. Was he right? What did he miss? And how do those truths look now in the age of Trump?

For the last episode in our summer season on the great twentieth-century essays and essayists, David discusses Joan Didion's 'The White Album' (1979), her haunting, impressionistic account of the fracturing of America in the late 1960s.

What was interpretation and why was Sontag so against it? David explores how an argument about art, criticism and the avant-garde can be applied to contemporary politics and can even explain the monstrous appeal of Donald Trump.

This week David discusses James Baldwin’s ‘Notes of a Native Son’ (1955), an essay that combines autobiography with a searing indictment of America’s racial politics.

This week’s episode in our series on the great essays and great essayists is about Simone Weil’s ‘Human Personality’ (1943). Written shortly before her death aged just 34, it is an uncompromising repudiation of the building blocks of modern life.

This week David discusses George Orwell’s ‘The Lion and the Unicorn’ (1941), his great wartime essay about what it does – and doesn’t – mean to be English.

David discusses Virginia Woolf’s masterpiece ‘A Room of One’s Own’ (1929), and how an essay on the conditions for women writing fiction ends up being about so much else besides.

For the third episode in this series about the great political essays, David explores Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience’ (1849), a ringing call to resistance against democratic idiocy.

For the second episode in this season of History of Ideas, David discusses the Scottish philosopher David Hume and explores how eighteenth-century arguments about the national debt can help make sense of American politics today.

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Blog – Posted on Friday, Mar 29

17 book review examples to help you write the perfect review.

It’s an exciting time to be a book reviewer. Once confined to print newspapers and journals, reviews now dot many corridors of the Internet — forever helping others discover their next great read. That said, every book reviewer will face a familiar panic: how can you do justice to a great book in just a thousand words?

As you know, the best way to learn how to do something is by immersing yourself in it. Luckily, the Internet (i.e. Goodreads and other review sites , in particular) has made book reviews more accessible than ever — which means that there are a lot of book reviews examples out there for you to view!

In this post, we compiled 17 prototypical book review examples in multiple genres to help you figure out how to write the perfect review . If you want to jump straight to the examples, you can skip the next section. Otherwise, let’s first check out what makes up a good review.

Are you interested in becoming a book reviewer? We recommend you check out Reedsy Discovery , where you can earn money for writing reviews — and are guaranteed people will read your reviews! To register as a book reviewer, sign up here.

Pro-tip : But wait! How are you sure if you should become a book reviewer in the first place? If you're on the fence, or curious about your match with a book reviewing career, take our quick quiz:

Should you become a book reviewer?

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What must a book review contain?

Like all works of art, no two book reviews will be identical. But fear not: there are a few guidelines for any aspiring book reviewer to follow. Most book reviews, for instance, are less than 1,500 words long, with the sweet spot hitting somewhere around the 1,000-word mark. (However, this may vary depending on the platform on which you’re writing, as we’ll see later.)

In addition, all reviews share some universal elements, as shown in our book review templates . These include:

• A review will offer a concise plot summary of the book. 
• A book review will offer an evaluation of the work. 
• A book review will offer a recommendation for the audience. 

If these are the basic ingredients that make up a book review, it’s the tone and style with which the book reviewer writes that brings the extra panache. This will differ from platform to platform, of course. A book review on Goodreads, for instance, will be much more informal and personal than a book review on Kirkus Reviews, as it is catering to a different audience. However, at the end of the day, the goal of all book reviews is to give the audience the tools to determine whether or not they’d like to read the book themselves.

Keeping that in mind, let’s proceed to some book review examples to put all of this in action.

How much of a book nerd are you, really?

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Book review examples for fiction books

Since story is king in the world of fiction, it probably won’t come as any surprise to learn that a book review for a novel will concentrate on how well the story was told .

That said, book reviews in all genres follow the same basic formula that we discussed earlier. In these examples, you’ll be able to see how book reviewers on different platforms expertly intertwine the plot summary and their personal opinions of the book to produce a clear, informative, and concise review.

Note: Some of the book review examples run very long. If a book review is truncated in this post, we’ve indicated by including a […] at the end, but you can always read the entire review if you click on the link provided.

Examples of literary fiction book reviews

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man :

An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.

His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.

This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.

Lyndsey reviews George Orwell’s 1984 on Goodreads:

YOU. ARE. THE. DEAD. Oh my God. I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected. Or in Newspeak "Double Plus Good." Let me preface this with an apology. If I sound stunningly inarticulate at times in this review, I can't help it. My mind is completely fried.

This book is like the dystopian Lord of the Rings, with its richly developed culture and economics, not to mention a fully developed language called Newspeak, or rather more of the anti-language, whose purpose is to limit speech and understanding instead of to enhance and expand it. The world-building is so fully fleshed out and spine-tinglingly terrifying that it's almost as if George travelled to such a place, escaped from it, and then just wrote it all down.

I read Fahrenheit 451 over ten years ago in my early teens. At the time, I remember really wanting to read 1984, although I never managed to get my hands on it. I'm almost glad I didn't. Though I would not have admitted it at the time, it would have gone over my head. Or at the very least, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it fully. […]

The New York Times reviews Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetry :

Three-quarters of the way through Lisa Halliday’s debut novel, “Asymmetry,” a British foreign correspondent named Alistair is spending Christmas on a compound outside of Baghdad. His fellow revelers include cameramen, defense contractors, United Nations employees and aid workers. Someone’s mother has FedExed a HoneyBaked ham from Maine; people are smoking by the swimming pool. It is 2003, just days after Saddam Hussein’s capture, and though the mood is optimistic, Alistair is worrying aloud about the ethics of his chosen profession, wondering if reporting on violence doesn’t indirectly abet violence and questioning why he’d rather be in a combat zone than reading a picture book to his son. But every time he returns to London, he begins to “spin out.” He can’t go home. “You observe what people do with their freedom — what they don’t do — and it’s impossible not to judge them for it,” he says.

The line, embedded unceremoniously in the middle of a page-long paragraph, doubles, like so many others in “Asymmetry,” as literary criticism. Halliday’s novel is so strange and startlingly smart that its mere existence seems like commentary on the state of fiction. One finishes “Asymmetry” for the first or second (or like this reader, third) time and is left wondering what other writers are not doing with their freedom — and, like Alistair, judging them for it.

Despite its title, “Asymmetry” comprises two seemingly unrelated sections of equal length, appended by a slim and quietly shocking coda. Halliday’s prose is clean and lean, almost reportorial in the style of W. G. Sebald, and like the murmurings of a shy person at a cocktail party, often comic only in single clauses. It’s a first novel that reads like the work of an author who has published many books over many years. […]

Emily W. Thompson reviews Michael Doane's The Crossing on Reedsy Discovery :

In Doane’s debut novel, a young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery with surprising results.

An unnamed protagonist (The Narrator) is dealing with heartbreak. His love, determined to see the world, sets out for Portland, Oregon. But he’s a small-town boy who hasn’t traveled much. So, the Narrator mourns her loss and hides from life, throwing himself into rehabbing an old motorcycle. Until one day, he takes a leap; he packs his bike and a few belongings and heads out to find the Girl.

Following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and William Least Heat-Moon, Doane offers a coming of age story about a man finding himself on the backroads of America. Doane’s a gifted writer with fluid prose and insightful observations, using The Narrator’s personal interactions to illuminate the diversity of the United States.

The Narrator initially sticks to the highways, trying to make it to the West Coast as quickly as possible. But a hitchhiker named Duke convinces him to get off the beaten path and enjoy the ride. “There’s not a place that’s like any other,” [39] Dukes contends, and The Narrator realizes he’s right. Suddenly, the trip is about the journey, not just the destination. The Narrator ditches his truck and traverses the deserts and mountains on his bike. He destroys his phone, cutting off ties with his past and living only in the moment.

As he crosses the country, The Narrator connects with several unique personalities whose experiences and views deeply impact his own. Duke, the complicated cowboy and drifter, who opens The Narrator’s eyes to a larger world. Zooey, the waitress in Colorado who opens his heart and reminds him that love can be found in this big world. And Rosie, The Narrator’s sweet landlady in Portland, who helps piece him back together both physically and emotionally.

This supporting cast of characters is excellent. Duke, in particular, is wonderfully nuanced and complicated. He’s a throwback to another time, a man without a cell phone who reads Sartre and sleeps under the stars. Yet he’s also a grifter with a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” attitude that harms those around him. It’s fascinating to watch The Narrator wrestle with Duke’s behavior, trying to determine which to model and which to discard.

Doane creates a relatable protagonist in The Narrator, whose personal growth doesn’t erase his faults. His willingness to hit the road with few resources is admirable, and he’s prescient enough to recognize the jealousy of those who cannot or will not take the leap. His encounters with new foods, places, and people broaden his horizons. Yet his immaturity and selfishness persist. He tells Rosie she’s been a good mother to him but chooses to ignore the continuing concern from his own parents as he effectively disappears from his old life.

Despite his flaws, it’s a pleasure to accompany The Narrator on his physical and emotional journey. The unexpected ending is a fitting denouement to an epic and memorable road trip.

The Book Smugglers review Anissa Gray’s The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls :

I am still dipping my toes into the literally fiction pool, finding what works for me and what doesn’t. Books like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray are definitely my cup of tea.

Althea and Proctor Cochran had been pillars of their economically disadvantaged community for years – with their local restaurant/small market and their charity drives. Until they are found guilty of fraud for stealing and keeping most of the money they raised and sent to jail. Now disgraced, their entire family is suffering the consequences, specially their twin teenage daughters Baby Vi and Kim.  To complicate matters even more: Kim was actually the one to call the police on her parents after yet another fight with her mother. […]

Examples of children’s and YA fiction book reviews

The Book Hookup reviews Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give :

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 5 stars! I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to tackle the voice of a movement like Black Lives Matter, but I do know that Thomas did it with a finesse only a talented author like herself possibly could. With an unapologetically realistic delivery packed with emotion, The Hate U Give is a crucially important portrayal of the difficulties minorities face in our country every single day. I have no doubt that this book will be met with resistance by some (possibly many) and slapped with a “controversial” label, but if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to walk in a POC’s shoes, then I feel like this is an unflinchingly honest place to start.

In Angie Thomas’s debut novel, Starr Carter bursts on to the YA scene with both heart-wrecking and heartwarming sincerity. This author is definitely one to watch.

♥ Review: The hype around this book has been unquestionable and, admittedly, that made me both eager to get my hands on it and terrified to read it. I mean, what if I was to be the one person that didn’t love it as much as others? (That seems silly now because of how truly mesmerizing THUG was in the most heartbreakingly realistic way.) However, with the relevancy of its summary in regards to the unjust predicaments POC currently face in the US, I knew this one was a must-read, so I was ready to set my fears aside and dive in. That said, I had an altogether more personal, ulterior motive for wanting to read this book. […]

The New York Times reviews Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood :

Alice Crewe (a last name she’s chosen for herself) is a fairy tale legacy: the granddaughter of Althea Proserpine, author of a collection of dark-as-night fairy tales called “Tales From the Hinterland.” The book has a cult following, and though Alice has never met her grandmother, she’s learned a little about her through internet research. She hasn’t read the stories, because her mother, Ella Proserpine, forbids it.

Alice and Ella have moved from place to place in an attempt to avoid the “bad luck” that seems to follow them. Weird things have happened. As a child, Alice was kidnapped by a man who took her on a road trip to find her grandmother; he was stopped by the police before they did so. When at 17 she sees that man again, unchanged despite the years, Alice panics. Then Ella goes missing, and Alice turns to Ellery Finch, a schoolmate who’s an Althea Proserpine superfan, for help in tracking down her mother. Not only has Finch read every fairy tale in the collection, but handily, he remembers them, sharing them with Alice as they journey to the mysterious Hazel Wood, the estate of her now-dead grandmother, where they hope to find Ella.

“The Hazel Wood” starts out strange and gets stranger, in the best way possible. (The fairy stories Finch relays, which Albert includes as their own chapters, are as creepy and evocative as you’d hope.) Albert seamlessly combines contemporary realism with fantasy, blurring the edges in a way that highlights that place where stories and real life convene, where magic contains truth and the world as it appears is false, where just about anything can happen, particularly in the pages of a very good book. It’s a captivating debut. […]

James reviews Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon on Goodreads:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of the books that followers of my blog voted as a must-read for our Children's Book August 2018 Readathon. Come check it out and join the next few weeks!

This picture book was such a delight. I hadn't remembered reading it when I was a child, but it might have been read to me... either way, it was like a whole new experience! It's always so difficult to convince a child to fall asleep at night. I don't have kids, but I do have a 5-month-old puppy who whines for 5 minutes every night when he goes in his cage/crate (hopefully he'll be fully housebroken soon so he can roam around when he wants). I can only imagine! I babysat a lot as a teenager and I have tons of younger cousins, nieces, and nephews, so I've been through it before, too. This was a believable experience, and it really helps show kids how to relax and just let go when it's time to sleep.

The bunny's are adorable. The rhymes are exquisite. I found it pretty fun, but possibly a little dated given many of those things aren't normal routines anymore. But the lessons to take from it are still powerful. Loved it! I want to sample some more books by this fine author and her illustrators.

Publishers Weekly reviews Elizabeth Lilly’s Geraldine :

This funny, thoroughly accomplished debut opens with two words: “I’m moving.” They’re spoken by the title character while she swoons across her family’s ottoman, and because Geraldine is a giraffe, her full-on melancholy mode is quite a spectacle. But while Geraldine may be a drama queen (even her mother says so), it won’t take readers long to warm up to her. The move takes Geraldine from Giraffe City, where everyone is like her, to a new school, where everyone else is human. Suddenly, the former extrovert becomes “That Giraffe Girl,” and all she wants to do is hide, which is pretty much impossible. “Even my voice tries to hide,” she says, in the book’s most poignant moment. “It’s gotten quiet and whispery.” Then she meets Cassie, who, though human, is also an outlier (“I’m that girl who wears glasses and likes MATH and always organizes her food”), and things begin to look up.

Lilly’s watercolor-and-ink drawings are as vividly comic and emotionally astute as her writing; just when readers think there are no more ways for Geraldine to contort her long neck, this highly promising talent comes up with something new.

Examples of genre fiction book reviews

Karlyn P reviews Nora Roberts’ Dark Witch , a paranormal romance novel , on Goodreads:

4 stars. Great world-building, weak romance, but still worth the read.

I hesitate to describe this book as a 'romance' novel simply because the book spent little time actually exploring the romance between Iona and Boyle. Sure, there IS a romance in this novel. Sprinkled throughout the book are a few scenes where Iona and Boyle meet, chat, wink at each, flirt some more, sleep together, have a misunderstanding, make up, and then profess their undying love. Very formulaic stuff, and all woven around the more important parts of this book.

The meat of this book is far more focused on the story of the Dark witch and her magically-gifted descendants living in Ireland. Despite being weak on the romance, I really enjoyed it. I think the book is probably better for it, because the romance itself was pretty lackluster stuff.

I absolutely plan to stick with this series as I enjoyed the world building, loved the Ireland setting, and was intrigued by all of the secondary characters. However, If you read Nora Roberts strictly for the romance scenes, this one might disappoint. But if you enjoy a solid background story with some dark magic and prophesies, you might enjoy it as much as I did.

I listened to this one on audio, and felt the narration was excellent.

Emily May reviews R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy Wars , an epic fantasy novel , on Goodreads:

“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”

Holy hell, what did I just read??

➽ A fantasy military school

➽ A rich world based on modern Chinese history

➽ Shamans and gods

➽ Detailed characterization leading to unforgettable characters

➽ Adorable, opium-smoking mentors

That's a basic list, but this book is all of that and SO MUCH MORE. I know 100% that The Poppy War will be one of my best reads of 2018.

Isn't it just so great when you find one of those books that completely drags you in, makes you fall in love with the characters, and demands that you sit on the edge of your seat for every horrific, nail-biting moment of it? This is one of those books for me. And I must issue a serious content warning: this book explores some very dark themes. Proceed with caution (or not at all) if you are particularly sensitive to scenes of war, drug use and addiction, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, self-harm, torture, and rape (off-page but extremely horrific).

Because, despite the fairly innocuous first 200 pages, the title speaks the truth: this is a book about war. All of its horrors and atrocities. It is not sugar-coated, and it is often graphic. The "poppy" aspect refers to opium, which is a big part of this book. It is a fantasy, but the book draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking.

Crime Fiction Lover reviews Jessica Barry’s Freefall , a crime novel:

In some crime novels, the wrongdoing hits you between the eyes from page one. With others it’s a more subtle process, and that’s OK too. So where does Freefall fit into the sliding scale?

In truth, it’s not clear. This is a novel with a thrilling concept at its core. A woman survives plane crash, then runs for her life. However, it is the subtleties at play that will draw you in like a spider beckoning to an unwitting fly.

Like the heroine in Sharon Bolton’s Dead Woman Walking, Allison is lucky to be alive. She was the only passenger in a private plane, belonging to her fiancé, Ben, who was piloting the expensive aircraft, when it came down in woodlands in the Colorado Rockies. Ally is also the only survivor, but rather than sitting back and waiting for rescue, she is soon pulling together items that may help her survive a little longer – first aid kit, energy bars, warm clothes, trainers – before fleeing the scene. If you’re hearing the faint sound of alarm bells ringing, get used to it. There’s much, much more to learn about Ally before this tale is over.

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One , a science-fiction novel :

Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.

The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three.

Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.

Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.

Book review examples for non-fiction books

Nonfiction books are generally written to inform readers about a certain topic. As such, the focus of a nonfiction book review will be on the clarity and effectiveness of this communication . In carrying this out, a book review may analyze the author’s source materials and assess the thesis in order to determine whether or not the book meets expectations.

Again, we’ve included abbreviated versions of long reviews here, so feel free to click on the link to read the entire piece!

The Washington Post reviews David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon :

The arc of David Grann’s career reminds one of a software whiz-kid or a latest-thing talk-show host — certainly not an investigative reporter, even if he is one of the best in the business. The newly released movie of his first book, “The Lost City of Z,” is generating all kinds of Oscar talk, and now comes the release of his second book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film rights to which have already been sold for $5 million in what one industry journal called the “biggest and wildest book rights auction in memory.”

Grann deserves the attention. He’s canny about the stories he chases, he’s willing to go anywhere to chase them, and he’s a maestro in his ability to parcel out information at just the right clip: a hint here, a shading of meaning there, a smartly paced buildup of multiple possibilities followed by an inevitable reversal of readerly expectations or, in some cases, by a thrilling and dislocating pull of the entire narrative rug.

All of these strengths are on display in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Around the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered underneath Osage lands in the Oklahoma Territory, lands that were soon to become part of the state of Oklahoma. Through foresight and legal maneuvering, the Osage found a way to permanently attach that oil to themselves and shield it from the prying hands of white interlopers; this mechanism was known as “headrights,” which forbade the outright sale of oil rights and granted each full member of the tribe — and, supposedly, no one else — a share in the proceeds from any lease arrangement. For a while, the fail-safes did their job, and the Osage got rich — diamond-ring and chauffeured-car and imported-French-fashion rich — following which quite a large group of white men started to work like devils to separate the Osage from their money. And soon enough, and predictably enough, this work involved murder. Here in Jazz Age America’s most isolated of locales, dozens or even hundreds of Osage in possession of great fortunes — and of the potential for even greater fortunes in the future — were dispatched by poison, by gunshot and by dynamite. […]

Stacked Books reviews Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers :

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. Friends and co-workers tell me that his subjects are interesting and his writing style is easy to follow without talking down to the reader. I wasn’t disappointed with Outliers. In it, Gladwell tackles the subject of success – how people obtain it and what contributes to extraordinary success as opposed to everyday success.

The thesis – that our success depends much more on circumstances out of our control than any effort we put forth – isn’t exactly revolutionary. Most of us know it to be true. However, I don’t think I’m lying when I say that most of us also believe that we if we just try that much harder and develop our talent that much further, it will be enough to become wildly successful, despite bad or just mediocre beginnings. Not so, says Gladwell.

Most of the evidence Gladwell gives us is anecdotal, which is my favorite kind to read. I can’t really speak to how scientifically valid it is, but it sure makes for engrossing listening. For example, did you know that successful hockey players are almost all born in January, February, or March? Kids born during these months are older than the others kids when they start playing in the youth leagues, which means they’re already better at the game (because they’re bigger). Thus, they get more play time, which means their skill increases at a faster rate, and it compounds as time goes by. Within a few years, they’re much, much better than the kids born just a few months later in the year. Basically, these kids’ birthdates are a huge factor in their success as adults – and it’s nothing they can do anything about. If anyone could make hockey interesting to a Texan who only grudgingly admits the sport even exists, it’s Gladwell. […]

Quill and Quire reviews Rick Prashaw’s Soar, Adam, Soar :

Ten years ago, I read a book called Almost Perfect. The young-adult novel by Brian Katcher won some awards and was held up as a powerful, nuanced portrayal of a young trans person. But the reality did not live up to the book’s billing. Instead, it turned out to be a one-dimensional and highly fetishized portrait of a trans person’s life, one that was nevertheless repeatedly dubbed “realistic” and “affecting” by non-transgender readers possessing only a vague, mass-market understanding of trans experiences.

In the intervening decade, trans narratives have emerged further into the literary spotlight, but those authored by trans people ourselves – and by trans men in particular – have seemed to fall under the shadow of cisgender sensationalized imaginings. Two current Canadian releases – Soar, Adam, Soar and This One Looks Like a Boy – provide a pointed object lesson into why trans-authored work about transgender experiences remains critical.

To be fair, Soar, Adam, Soar isn’t just a story about a trans man. It’s also a story about epilepsy, the medical establishment, and coming of age as seen through a grieving father’s eyes. Adam, Prashaw’s trans son, died unexpectedly at age 22. Woven through the elder Prashaw’s narrative are excerpts from Adam’s social media posts, giving us glimpses into the young man’s interior life as he traverses his late teens and early 20s. […]

Book Geeks reviews Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love :

WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5

SUBJECT: 4/5

CANDIDNESS: 4.5/5

RELEVANCE: 3.5/5

ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5

“Eat Pray Love” is so popular that it is almost impossible to not read it. Having felt ashamed many times on my not having read this book, I quietly ordered the book (before I saw the movie) from amazon.in and sat down to read it. I don’t remember what I expected it to be – maybe more like a chick lit thing but it turned out quite different. The book is a real story and is a short journal from the time when its writer went travelling to three different countries in pursuit of three different things – Italy (Pleasure), India (Spirituality), Bali (Balance) and this is what corresponds to the book’s name – EAT (in Italy), PRAY (in India) and LOVE (in Bali, Indonesia). These are also the three Is – ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA.

Though she had everything a middle-aged American woman can aspire for – MONEY, CAREER, FRIENDS, HUSBAND; Elizabeth was not happy in her life, she wasn’t happy in her marriage. Having suffered a terrible divorce and terrible breakup soon after, Elizabeth was shattered. She didn’t know where to go and what to do – all she knew was that she wanted to run away. So she set out on a weird adventure – she will go to three countries in a year and see if she can find out what she was looking for in life. This book is about that life changing journey that she takes for one whole year. […]

Emily May reviews Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Goodreads:

Look, I'm not a happy crier. I might cry at songs about leaving and missing someone; I might cry at books where things don't work out; I might cry at movies where someone dies. I've just never really understood why people get all choked up over happy, inspirational things. But Michelle Obama's kindness and empathy changed that. This book had me in tears for all the right reasons.

This is not really a book about politics, though political experiences obviously do come into it. It's a shame that some will dismiss this book because of a difference in political opinion, when it is really about a woman's life. About growing up poor and black on the South Side of Chicago; about getting married and struggling to maintain that marriage; about motherhood; about being thrown into an amazing and terrifying position.

I hate words like "inspirational" because they've become so overdone and cheesy, but I just have to say it-- Michelle Obama is an inspiration. I had the privilege of seeing her speak at The Forum in Inglewood, and she is one of the warmest, funniest, smartest, down-to-earth people I have ever seen in this world.

And yes, I know we present what we want the world to see, but I truly do think it's genuine. I think she is someone who really cares about people - especially kids - and wants to give them better lives and opportunities.

She's obviously intelligent, but she also doesn't gussy up her words. She talks straight, with an openness and honesty rarely seen. She's been one of the most powerful women in the world, she's been a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, she's had her own successful career, and yet she has remained throughout that same girl - Michelle Robinson - from a working class family in Chicago.

I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading this book.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better idea of how to write a book review. You might be wondering how to put all of this knowledge into action now! Many book reviewers start out by setting up a book blog. If you don’t have time to research the intricacies of HTML, check out Reedsy Discovery — where you can read indie books for free and review them without going through the hassle of creating a blog. To register as a book reviewer , go here .

And if you’d like to see even more book review examples, simply go to this directory of book review blogs and click on any one of them to see a wealth of good book reviews. Beyond that, it's up to you to pick up a book and pen — and start reviewing!

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Book Review : The Idea of History by R.G.Collingwood

Related Papers

Journal of the Philosophy of History

Christopher Fear

Does R. G. Collingwood’s meta-philosophical theory that concepts in philosophy are organized as “scales of forms” apply to his own work on the nature of history? Or is there some inconsistency between Collingwood’s work as a philosopher of history and as a theorist of philosophical method? This article surveys existing views among Collingwood specialists on the applicability of Collingwood’s “scale of forms” thesis to his own philosophy of history, especially the accounts of Leon Goldstein and Lionel Rubinoff, and outlines the obvious objections to such an application. These objections however are found to be answerable. It is shown that Collingwood did indeed think the scale of forms thesis should apply to the philosophy of history, and even that he identified the “highest” form in history as a kind of scientific research or inquiry. But it is not demonstrated that Collingwood identified the “lower” forms explicitly. An account is then provided of the three distinct forms that can be identified in Collingwood’s philosophy of history, and of the “critical points” by which (according to Collingwood’s philosophical method) lower forms are negated and incorporated by higher forms. But it is also explained that these forms are not neatly coterminous with the stages in Western philosophical thinking about history as Collingwood narrates them in The Idea of History.

James N Kanarek

In 'The Idea of History', R.G Collingwood claims that the idea of history is very special type of idea that requires a very special kind of study. In this paper I explain the reasons behind Collingwood's claim that history cannot be studied in the same way as the natural sciences. I furthermore clarify Collingwood's distinction between scientific and interpretive explanations in history. I moreover provide a concise explanation of Collingwood's theory of causation, and its implications for the notions of evidence, and truth. I conclude that Collinwood's idealistic cultural philosophy of history, although having certain merits, makes a highly implausible argument for apriori knowledge based on an unoriginal, and universally recognised epistemological principle.

Sophie Marcotte Chenard

In this paper, I examine Strauss's critique of Collingwood's interpretive approach and argue that Strauss's accusation of historicism partly misses its target. While Collingwood can be said to be a " historicist " thinker insofar as he pursues the project of the German historicist tradition, he does not endorse the premises of radical historicism according to which all thought is historically relative. Although many of Strauss's arguments against interpretive historicism are valid, they do not apply to Collingwood's enterprise. In creating a dialogue between the two thinkers, I demonstrate that their respective theories of interpretation are as a matter of fact closer than they appear at first sight. Both philosophers defend the possibility of understanding past authors as they understood themselves, they maintain the importance of the quest for philosophical truth in interpreting the past texts and make the case for the necessity of history for philosophy.

Intellectual History Review

Markku Hyrkkänen

Hermeneia: Journal of Hermeneutics, Art Theory and Criticism

Adrian Hagiu , Cristian Constantin Lupașcu , Sergiu Bortoș

In this paper, we aim to demonstrate that Robin George Collingwood"s thesis on understanding the past through rethinking has hermeneutical consequences that can be instrumental in approaching and understanding philosophical texts. We are concerned not only with understanding the historical past, but also with understanding the wider context in which certain philosophical writings were thought and penned. Therefore, the hermeneutic dimension of Collingwood"s thought leads to some methodological principles, which are contrary to constructivist or deconstructivist assumptions of approaching written texts. Consequently, proceeding from the assumption that for Collingwood history itself is hermeneutic, we try to fulfill our intended objectives by supplementing the phenomenological method with hermeneutic analysis. The findings of the following study are hermeneutically relevant in that the past is incapsulated within the present and this implies the cancellation of the past-present divide and at the same time the actuality of (past) philosophical texts. We therefore propose the ruling principle that we rather understand the past from the perspective of the present than the present from the perspective of the past.

Collingwood on Philosophical Methodology

Jonas Ahlskog

In this essay, Ahlskog examines R. G. Collingwood’s conception of the philosophy of history and its metaphilosophical import. Ahlskog shows that Collingwood’s philosophy of history is simultaneously both a descriptive metaphysics of history and an elucidation of the relation between historical and philosophical thought. As a descriptive metaphysics, Ahlskog argues that Collingwood’s account has an irreducible and underexplored role for contemporary issues in the philosophy of history. The metaphilosophical import of Collingwood’s philosophy of history is unpacked through an elaboration of Collingwood’s ideas about the historicity of human experience and understanding. In conclusion, Ahlskog argues that the metaphilosophical dimension of Collingwood’s philosophy of history is integrally connected with the concept of history as self-knowledge.

“The Myth of Collingwood’s Historicism”, Inquiry 2010, 53/6, pp. 627 – 641.

Giuseppina D'Oro

Abstract. This paper seeks to clarify the precise sense in which Collingwood’s “metaphysics without ontology” is a descriptive metaphysics. It locates Collingwood’s metaphysics against the background of Strawson’s distinction between descriptive and revisionary metaphysics and then defends it against the claim that Collingwood reduced metaphysics to a form of cultural anthropology. Collingwood’s metaphysics is descriptive not because it is some sort of historicised psychology that describes temporally parochial and historically shifting assumptions, but because it is a high level form of conceptual analysis premised on the claim that ontological questions are actually internal ones and that metaphysics, understood as an attempt to answer external questions, is not a possible philosophical enterprise. This non-historicist reading of what it means to take the ontology out of metaphysics has broader implications which go beyond a scholarly debate in so far as it shows that it is possible to maintain objectivity in the absence of strong ontological underpinnings.

James Connelly

R. G. Collingwood's declaration that belief in "eternal questions" in philosophy is "merely a vulgar error, consequent on a kind of historical myopia which, deceived by superficial resemblances, failed to detect profound differences" has been vigorously discussed over the last sixty years, thanks partly to its resurrection by Quentin Skinner. But another of Collingwood's provocative claims has been relatively neglected. If the claims and arguments of classic authors in the history of philosophy provide answers to questions that are not ours, but that are in fact limited to the context of their own time; and if the purpose of history is to illuminate those answers in light of their historical contexts, should historians ask – as Collingwood claimed they "must" – not only "what was So-and-so's theory on such and such a matter?" , but also "was he right?"? Should the historian of ideas in a world of changing questions nevertheless describe a theory as "false" or "true", as Collingwood does, or is truth assessment no proper part of the history of philosophy? This essay draws on the full range of Collingwood's writings, and presents his strongest case for the claim that historians "must" ask "the truth question" about old philosophy.

Parysa Mostajir

While Collingwood’s Idea of History (ih) is an excellent resource for defending history’s autonomy, its invocation is not without problems. If history deals only in reflective thought, how can it encompass irrational action? How can history reconcile its subjective method of imagination with its claim to objectivity? The most successful solutions to these problems, such as those proposed by D’Oro and Mink, appeal to Collingwood’s greater philosophical system, but they typically attribute him a restrictive and unintuitive view of historical inquiry. We are left with a historical practice that is less equipped to address the problems we intuitively want it to solve – those dealing with past human experience as it actually occurred. Using The Principles of Art (pa), I present an interpretation of Collingwood’s philosophy of history in which emotions are communicable between individuals. His theory of art defines artistic creation as a process in which unconscious emotions are harnessed...

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