The Shape of the New: Four Big Ideas and How They Made the Modern World

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Examines "Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx--heirs of the Enlightenment who embodied its highest ideals about progress--and shows how their thoughts, over time and in the hands of their followers and opponents, transformed the very nature of our beliefs, institutions, economies, and politics"--Amazon.com.

Reviews

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2016 One of The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2015 One of Bloomberg Businessweek's Best Books of 2015, chosen by Diana Farrell "I was struck again and again by the extraordinary breadth, erudition and lucidity of this book."--Fareed Zakaria, New York Times Book Review "This is a gem of a book in that it has the audacity to paint in big strokes to portray a great intellectual history that puts our often competing, current belief systems into their 18th and 19th century contexts. In light of the increasingly perplexing news headlines, this type of bold context setting is a real gift."--Diana Farrell, President and chief executive officer, JPMorgan Chase Institute in Bloomberg Best Books of 2015 "Montgomery and Chirot offer a sweeping defense of intellectual liberalism and an examination of its indelible influence on the modern world... Thoughtful, highly readable, and provocative."--Choice

Author Bio

Scott L. Montgomery is an affiliate faculty member in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. Daniel Chirot is professor of Russian and Eurasian studies at the University of Washington.