Against the Current

Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) was one of the greatest thinkers and finest stylists of our age. As a historian of ideas, he had no equal. In prose of exceptional lucidity and grace, Berlin illuminated some of the most crucial issues of Western culture and civilization. Isaiah Berlin's main theme in these illuminating essays is the importance of dissenters to the history of thought. Among his subjects are those whose ideas still challenge conventional wisdom: Machiavelli, Vico, Montesquieu, Herzen, Sorel. With his exceptional powers of imaginative re-creation, Berlin brings to life original minds that swam against the current of their times. In so doing, he offers a powerful defense of diversity in our visions of life. 410 pp 6 x 9

'This is an exceptional volume by a remarkable intellectual. Berlin's essays are wide-ranging, rich, deeply learned, and elegant."--Mitchell Cohen, City University of New York