Representatives Books

The junior standard-bearer for civil rights during the era of segregation recounts his rise through those times toward his own national recognition. It's an intimate and introspective offering. It's a unique perspective.
After his Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, crashes, he self-imposes exile as an "invisible man" in New York working as a grant officer for a private charity:
(p398) "New York was just too big for me. I didn't feel as if I could get my hands around it. In the South, communities seemed comprehensible, manageable, workable. You could see where things started and ended. You could get a grasp of the place and the people, as well as their problems. And you could respond to those problems with solutions that might work...."
He always has the South on his mind where there remains "a spirit instilled by the civil rights movement that is still felt and remembered today, a spirit that was not and is not felt in the same way in the North. That, I believe, is the huge difference between the legacy of the civil rights movement in the North and the South. All the great battlegrounds of the civil rights movement were in the South. That fact is cherished and remembered by the people there." (p 208).
There is confusion in "Feel Angry with Me". The chapter describes the fall of Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney. Their violent deaths in defense of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law during Freedom Summer (1964) fixed the nation's eyes on racist brutality in Mississippi. The confusion is in character casting and mixing the ridiculous partying with his friend, actress, Shirley MacLaine and his virginity in the same chapter with the sublime. Here, especially, the book sacrifices continuity to rigid chronology.
In and out of church - and on both sides of the pulpit - his cast of characters is most colorful, including a prominent one (not MacLaine) today facing bizarre criminal charges. So many stories within the author's story could make for a better book than a strict chronology.
The author alludes to his motivation to influence the masses, (p 400) "I felt the spirit, the hand of the Lord, the power of the Bible -- all of those things -- but only when they flowed through the church and out into the streets. As long as God and His teachings were kept inside the wall of a sanctuary, as they were when I was young, the church meant next to nothing to me." Like a good, "whooping" preacher, he is, at times, poetic. It's some of his best stuff.
Congressman Lewis is no great hero, though he has a measure of both -- greatness of association to the movement he led until the times turned violent -- and heroism for holding to his sometimes politically incorrect beliefs, though not sufficiently incorrect for this reviewer. And his book is not great literature. It is his gift to us with an interest in non-violent social change.

John Lewis's powerful and moving retelling of his journey through the
Civil Rights years, much of it in leadership positions, is a walk through
important American history. His clarity of purpose, values, honed by the
beatings and jailings of those years shine through it all. This personal
insight into events we read about in history makes it real, and makes us
admire the courage and persistence of people like John Lewis. In our present
times of struggle over issues of war, environment and economic fairness,
we need both a reminder of this historical struggle and a next generation
to press us to make changes, to make a difference. A must read for anyone
concerned about our present times.

Ever since I came to the U.S. I learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his philosophy of non-violence, I always wanted to learn more about the civil rights movement because of the way African American citizens overcame their obstacles in a non-violent way.


Walking with the wind is a memoir of the author John Lewis, the book begins at his home town where he was raised and learned the meaning of discrimination at an early age. The book describes his whole life how he was discriminated and how became involved with the movement, and how he later on became chair man of the SNCC.
The book also has a part where it only describes the life of John Lewis after the movement, what he does and what happens to all of his close friends, this is at the end of the book, but also talks about how he tries to become something important in U.S. politics.


My favorite part of the whole book is when John Lewis is watching the presidential elections of 1976, when he sees that Jimmy Carter was elected he begins to cry because like he says, he finally sees the hands that picked cotton, picking a president, he cries because he sees that all his hard work pays off, by the government counting the black vote.


The knowledge that John Lewis wants to pass down to readers is the struggle of all African American people to gain freedom and rights, he wants the new generation of people of color to know how much the old generation had to go through to gain all the freedom kids posses these days.


This book is boring, there is almost no action, it is mostly talking about politics, so do not read this book if you are not hooked by memoirs. It takes time to get into the good stuff, like for example, there are parts where the author describes the way police responded in a violent way to a non-violent protest, there are many occasions like this through out the whole book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis' broad range of experiences gives the reader a glimpse into nearly every facet of the 1960's part of the movement. However, it is also useful for the specific study of the Nashville student movement and the study of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

John Lewis' memoir tells of his pivotal role in the civil rights movement as , literally, its most prominent "fall guy." John Lewis was physically at the forefront of the major civil rights events-getting beaten, arrested, and ultimately, prevailing in the struggle to desegregate the south. He was one of the original Freedom Riders as well as the first person across the Pettis Bridge in Selma. He explains all of his actions and ethics through a mirror of highly disciplined non-violence that leaves the reader in awe of his amazing achievements. In sum, this book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the civil rights movement.

This is the greatest translation of The Holy Quran in English. It is complete for it contains the meaning, the Romanized form of the Quran, and it is also in Arabic. Make no mistake this is an authoritative translation of The Holy Quran for the English reader and you will not be disappointed. The paper on which it is written is nice and one of the best that I have held. Just get it for what you are getting is the closest thing that man can get to GOD. For those who are unable to afford Asad translation there is a website, it is www.geocities.com/masad02/ be warned sometimes the daily bandwidth is reached so it becomes inaccessible.

If you're sincerely after an understanding of the Qu'ran, either learn Arabic and read it (translations are not technically "The Qu'ran"), or buy this book! Like many of the translators of the Qu'ran, Asad was not born into the religion and was not a native speaker, but unlike the rest, he spent many years living among the Bedouin who are the only ones still speaking the Arabic in which the Qu'ran was written down. Modern Arabic is taught in schools and spoken by millions, but many of the words in the Qu'ran have fallen out of common usage, so even the best of scholars may almost be forgiven for not always getting it quite right. But in translatin the Qu'ran, it HAS to be right. The multiple meanings of the original words of the Qu'ran make faulty translations and confusion altogether too prevalent for Western readers. Asad was born a Polish Jew who discovered Islam and spent most of his life researching Qu'ranic language. He became a highly respected scholar, even in the Islamic world. He was a close friend of King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud), a confidant of the Indian poet Iqbal, and was appointed to represent Pakistan to the United Nations after India's partition. His translation and abundant footnotes are invaluable to anyone who is really looking to penetrate this 1400 year-old text. The Prologue by the English Islamic scholar Charles Le Gai Eaton is fascinating, the footnotes are a joy to read and extremely helpful in understanding the nuances of the words and context in which the verses were brought forth, and the book itself, with its gorgeous insertions of calligraphic art, is beautiful to look at. In many footnotes, Asad compares his own translations to that of Pickthall and several other translators and explains his choices and leaves the decision to the reader to accept or reject them. I never enjoyed reading introductions or footnotes until I got Asad's book. It's not exactly portable, since the original Arabic, as well as transliterations are presented along with the English, but it's worth its weight in gold. If you're trying to get an idea of what the Qu'ran is all about, this is the one for you.

Beautiful translation and explaination.
Use of classical commentators of the Quran was very helpful.
Clarifies many misunderstood concepts of the Quran.
I read and re-read again and again.
I do find this 'Message of the Quran' refreshing.

Just a short review as others have expressed better than I the unsurpassed job of interpretation of the Holy Qur'an into English which Asad was able to achieve - his interpretation and footnotes are far, far better than any before.

The layout of the book is also a gift to those who are learning Qur'anic Arabic: with English, Arabic, and a transliteration on one page (along with the all-enompassing guide to pronouncing the transliteration) Asad has provided a powerful tool to those who are students of Arabic.

A wonderful, wonderful work. The best interpretation of the Holy Qur'an in English that I've read, and a book of beauty printed on fine paper and with exceptional typography. This should be the standard text for all English speaking Muslims as well as any English speaking person desiring to raed the Qur'an in the very best interpretation.

My only complaint, and the reason I 'deducted' a star, is that the book with its fine heavy paper does not have a proper heavy-duty binding. After 2 or 3 weeks I had to have my copy re-bound as the cover began to tear off and the signatures began to break the stitching. I would hope that in subsequent editions the publishers would provide a better binding so that this text would not unravel after a short period of heavy use,

Determined to find out the truth about Islam myself rather than rely on other people's impressions, I decided to read the Quran for myself. Over the last 2 years or so, I bought and tried about 3 different translations. I tried several times to get through the Quran, but found it difficult to wade through. I have read the entire Bible in the past, in the NASB translation, so I am not used to having trouble reading religious texts. I still needed to read the Quran, though. I found a website that discussed different translations, and the one by Muhammad Asad got good marks. So I decided to order a copy. I was not disappointed. The translation itself is wonderful - very readable and so much clearer to my American ears. Not only is the actual English translation of the Arabic excellent, but each page also contains Muhammad Asad's very learned and helpful commentary. I am grateful for this. In addition, the book itself - the physical book and its pages - is a work of art. I don't say this lightly - The book is filled with gorgeous calligraphy throughout. The pages are not thin onion skin like so many bibles - the paper is heavy and has a gloss which really shows off the art work and renders the text (the original Arabic, the English translation, and even the transliteration which is provided to help you sound out the Arabic should you so desire) crystal clear. This edition also contains essays and basic instruction on the Arabic system of writing. There is also an attached ribbon to keep your place. This edition is pure class - full of beauty both visual and textual. Definitely worth the cover price - especially if you are a native speaker of English trying to read the Quran for the first time. Also: this edition is promoted by CAIR, so I trust its orthodoxy.

Japan. 1912. Japanese society is divided, or at least complex. Still with most of it's body and soul in the ancient tradition of the East, but with ever increasing impulses towards the "Western culture" (In the unsemitically correct reality, we of the "West" have infinitely more in common with the traditional culture of the East than we do the current world-wide Weimar Republic, but oh well). Mishima, the author, was more or less a Japanese representative of the "conservative revolution", and appears to have been quite well read. His life reminds me in many ways of Corneliu Codreanu and Julius Evola. His well-known dramatic ritual suicide as a protest against the betrayal of tradition in Japan, and the Japanese submission to American rule, followed him and his radical "right wing" organization's (The Shield Society) failure to arouse the Japanese Defence Force into rebelling.

The book is the first in a tetralogy, and follows Kiyoaki Matsugae, a young student from a family of the lower nobility in his relationship with Satoko Ayakura, the daughter of one of the 28 families of the higher nobility, her being the daughter of a count. The book in many ways actually reminded me of the excellent "Victoria" by Knut Hamsun, with the constant back and forth in the interaction between the characters, sometimes they love each other dearly, and at other times torment each other. Such is the nature of difficult relationships, I guess! The book paints a very vivid picture of the end of a noble era, and the translation I read was excellently done. The moral teaching of this period, and it's sometimes less noble effects is excellently portrayed.

Through certain misunderstandings, Satoko ends up being future wife of one of the royal princes, and Kiyoaki is driven to despair. Long story short, as all the books in the series, there is no happy ending, but that is basically the ending of all our lives. This is a book I highly recommend, and apart from a few minor flaws, it is all in all an excellent tale, and I look very much forward to reading the rest of the series. 4,5 stars.

(I read a different edition)

Maybe it was a bad transalation. Maybe I could not relate as a westerner to an old Japanese story, but I really did not enjoy this book. It was maudlin and unbelievable. Story was boring. Character development was terrible and it was poorly written/transalated. I recommend Murakami's Norwegian Wood for those who want to read books by Japanese authors.

Mishima's Spring Snow is a coming-of-age tale for nouveau riche Kiyoaki, whose naive childhood crush on the more mature Satoko grows into something much more powerful, beautiful and, ultimately, destructive. Kiyoaki's failings are human and familiar; acting on rash impulses, immaturity, a failure to realise what he wants till he has lost it. Mishima's characterisation is finely drawn and accurate. The scheming Tadeshina turns out to have her own secret heartbreak, enervated Ayakura lacks guile but not luck, the ancient loyalties of the Abessess make her a formidable eminence grice. The characters are at once individually drawn and representative of a unique and fascinating era of flux and change in Japan, as ancient modes of behaviour gave way to modernising forces. Mishima's novel is both of its time and timeless. A true masterpiece.

Just finished reading an excellent book, just a few minutes ago, and I feel compelled to write a review, while ideas are still fresh in my mind.

This is the first book I've finished reading for my Summer Reading. The book is called Snow Spring (Haru no Yuki) by Mishima Yukio and its the first book in his masterpiece, The Sea of Fertility or Hojou no Umi. The Sea of Fertility is a series of four novels by one of Japan's greatest authors. The book I have is the Vintage International edition, translated by Michael Gallagher.

This novel really moved me. In the last 100 pages, I couldn't do anything but finish it. Just like a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, where the reader hangs onto every word until the truth and mystery is finally revealed in the last word, so does this novel grip the reader.

On the surface is a conventional tale of the Japanese idea of unrequited love, a theme that is done over and over again in Japanese fiction. What sets this piece apart from others, is Mishima narrative drive and richly detailed characters and the psychological insight into every major and minor character involved.

Kiyoaki begins his ill fated relationship with the beautiful Satoko, whom he has known all his life. At first he disregards her and then he is on fire to obtain her love after she is engaged to a Prince. Wealthy families are invovled in making the Wedding ceremony a success and any type of scandal leaking out to the press must be avoided at all costs. But Kioyaki single minded determination to pursure Satoko, despite such obstacles, causes the reader to want him to succeed.

On the one hand, Kiyoaki lets his desires and emotions rage out of control and on the other all those emotions put him into action. He used to sit around in his room all day, lonely and depressed, until he just decided to pusure love. Its his drive to obtain love and his selfish quest for Satoko's heavenly beauty that pushes him along page after page. These type of overly romantic novels can quickly turn unwittingly comical in lesser writer. But Mishima combines the richness of Japanese traditional and culture with romantic ideas of love and realistic views, based in concrete reality, that prevent the work from becoming a low form of soap opera.

The novel is both realistic novel and emotional charged romantic that causes the entire work to be a cleverly crafted paradox. For example, Honda is Kiyoaki's best friend in high school. Honda has a revelation that he must prevent Kiyoaki from pursuing Satoko becomes of his friend's harmful obession. The fact that Honda can't bring himself to hurt his friend by giving him a cold rational arguement, shows love between friends that isn't distorted by irrational love. Kiyoaki's love for Satoko is more based on his own selfish fantasy. It is this fantastic love that wins out between Satoko and over Honda, who had good intentions but failed to act on them. Irrational love wins out over the gloom of reality.

Without giving away any more of the story, let me just end with how this book took over my imagination and wouldn't let it go for 2 whole days. All day Saturday and all Sunday afternoon, I cared more about the characters in this story then my own family. I couldn't do anything else except finish reading it.

It starts out slow but builds to a breakneck speed in the end. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an excellent novel this Summer. Forget about it being Japanese and look past all that exoticism and you will see the novel for all its beauty.

Today I will start on the second novel in the series, called Runaway Horses.

I can't wait.

In "Spring Snow," Yukio Mishima has chosen the perfect title for his novel. The narrative is as gentle and as beautiful as wet snow on spring blossoms, and indeed there is a poignant scene where two lovers have a tryst in a rickshaw under such conditions. It was my first foray into the world of Mishima -- indeed, of Japanese literature -- and will not be my last.

The story of a young and handsome aristocrat, Kiyoaki Matsugae, and the beautiful and mysterious Ayakura Satoko, comes from the same time-honored tradition of as more familiar star-crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. Set just after the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, the novel offers intriguing insights into a Japanese culture that is at once in flux and clinging to traditions.

If you love a writer whose strength is description of nature, Mishima is not to be missed. His words are as fit as any Nature Channel special on the wonders of Japan and he is equally adept at describing the contours of his young lovers' bodies. In addition to the sensual and sensuous wonders, the inner psychology of passion-plagued minds is a point of expertise for this writer. He deftly avoids sentimentalism while walking the thin line between hatred and love, between passion and pain.

Symbolism, description, psychology, and a gentle narrative pace. What's not to love? Readers looking for a fast-paced plot might not be overwhelmed, but those who love it when they stumble upon a "writer's writer" will be glad they tried Yukio Mishima. It is the first book of the tetralogy, "The Sea of Fertility."

The book reveals a surprising fact that the British had secretly redrawn the Indo-China boundary without Chinese agreement. Moreover,

When the British relinquished the Indian Empire in 1947, they started to translate the McMahon Line from the maps as the effective northwest boundary of India, despite that the Line appeared on its maps only ten years before. As the British departed, the new Indian government assured that they would complete their work: "If anything, they intended to pursue an even more forward policy than had the British."

I can't believe that we were all fooled by the media. India, not China was the aggressor!

Recently, India and China, the two most populous nations on the planet, have taken significant steps to improve a bilateral relationship deeply scarred by a 1962 war centering over a territoral dispute in an area bordering Chinese-annexed Tibet. This thaw in relations may reflect a generational shift in both countries since this dispute. It is not entirely surprisingly that press commentary on these events, notably in India, has also revived attention to this book published in 1970 by British journalist Neville Maxwell which focuses on the 1962 war which had since scarred relations between the two Asian giant.

Anyone who has not read this book, but has an interest in the future relationship of these two Asian powers, should read it, if only because it remains one of the most important, albeit somewhat controversial, reference on the Sino-Indian conflict.

Maxwell's account of this dispute is held by some observers, including many Indians I have talked to, to be biased against India, particularly as Maxwell (described in at least one Indian paper as a notroious Indophobe and Sinophile) has written QUOTE Indians will be shocked to discover that, when China crushed India in 1962, the fault lay at India, or more specifically, at Jawaharlal Nehru and his clique's doorsteps. It was a hopelessly ill-prepared Indian army that provoked China on orders emanating from Delhi, and paid the price for its misadventure in men, money and national humiliation UNQUOTE

It is timely to reintroduce this book and the controversy surrounding it, since any improvement in this relationship is likely to be mediated by a new generation in both countries, and to involve a generation outside both countries, which did not live through the 1962 conflict.

I don't think the book is biased against India, expecially after reading much materials about this war from Chinese side.
This book is exclusively based on documents from Indian side, so inevitably adopt many Indian assertations. for example, It claims that Indian army in this war was outmanned and outgunned by Chinese. In fact, the two army of both sides are of roughly the same size. Since China got many more strong neighbours and enemies than India, She has to maintain large forces on the border of Soviet Rassia, on the border of Korean in preparation for the possible invasion of US force, and on the southeast coast to watch Taiwan, who always threat to recover the mainland.How can Chinese outmanned Indian on the desolate Tibetan plateau?

another wrong Indian assertation in this book is that they believe Chinese army are better supplied in the war. If we simply have a look of a map we would easily know the Indian side of the border is mostly plain, while Chinese side is the vast mountainous Tibetan plateau.It's much more difficult to build roads on Chinese side (in fact there is no railway cuts into Tibet even nowadays, 2004). Indian army could be supplied by air, the Chinese actually were supplied by men and mules.The author could have easily know this point if he got chance to read some Chinese documents about the war.

Since the book tells the truth of Nehru's government's foolishness, arogance, adventurism and opportunist mentality, this otherwise excellent book however was not very popular in India, even to this date.

The disputed McMahon Line was a unilateral imaginary line drawn by the British colony authorities without the awareness of the Chinese and without consulting to the Chinese government. Therefore it was not challenged by the Chinese government before British withdraw from India in 1947. During Nehru's rein, he foolishly pursue the so called "Forward Policy" to take effective control the territory and border that the British imagined and wished to establish. But China in 1962 is no longer the China 1897 under Ching Imerial dynasty who was unable to exercise a strong protection of her own territory. Now Nehru faced with was a formidable Chinese Red Army (PLA) who was battle hardened and had just defeated Chiang Kai-Sheik in 1949 and have fought a war at par with the US army in Korea (1950-1953). Nehru foolishly believed China has no will to defend her territory by force. Therefore Nehru advanced to McMahon Line and tresspassed it. The "Forward Policy" inevitably provoked the Chinese garrison force and the war was erupted inevitably. Although the Chinese has tried to settle this by negotiations, but it was flatly refused bny Nehru's government. The result is the illprepared Indian force suffered humiliating defeat on both west and east fronts. The war however was stopped by a surprising Chinese unilateral withdraw back to the north of McMahon Line. The rest, is history.

Neville Maxwell's book was the result of his extensive research of the Indian Defense Department's archive. It sould be noted that Maxwell was unable to access the records from the Chinese side. So how could it be biased against India? For the reason along, how could it be said he was a Indophobe and a Sinophile? For a loser who does not learn from his mistakes and admit his own failure and shortcomings, a bigger disaster is waiting to happen.

This book is definitely one of the best book I've ever read about a limited war between two countries. While I don't think the author has any bias against India, as one of my fellow reviewers suggests, I believe other reviewers have already discussed the merits of this book. I would only like to add three points in this discussion:
1. It is really sad that the UK's imperalism/colonailism haunts these two countires even after withdrawing from India. The MaMahon line is not a written agreement between UK & Chinese (Ching dynasty) governments but a product of some irresponsible officials in India & Tibet. The UK government should have the ultimate blame for the whole debacle.
2. It reminds us that how media can affect our point of view so easily. We must beware of our inherent assumption about the righteousness of a democratic government.
3. In view of Nehru's statement about "driving out the enemy", recent Indian leaders' decalration that China is still the biggest threat for India, I think these Indian leaders should concentrate on improving the life their people instead of fabricating an emeny from these agressive statements.

I haven't even bought this Lib. of America edition and I know it is important. I have the Thoreau collection and all I have to say is that these New England writers of that era were critical thinkers and universal in their thoughts. Of great importance is the understanding of true spirituality, which both Emerson and Thoreau embody. Thoreau once said "We are rich in proportion to the number of things we can afford to leave alone."

It is wonderful to have all of Emerson's essays in one volume. Like his great pupil and friend Thoreau , Emerson is a poetic thinker of the highest order. His essays are filled with aphoristic gems . They contain not simply thoughts on different subjects but an organic and coherent way of seeing and understanding the world. They are the work of a genuine American philosophical voice.
There is so much to read here that it is difficult to know where to begin, though I have an especial feeling for 'Representative Men' with its exaltation of great individual human beings .Because he is so poetic and because his writing is so dense with meaning it does not always make for easy reading. But it is firm in principle and great in suggestiveness.
The way to understand where Whitman and in a sense even William James are coming from is to read this work.

I cannot think of another writer whose prose reads with as much poetic power as Emerson. The poetic aspect comes from the richness of meaning that continue to manifest as one lingers and thinks about the words Emerson writes rather than anything contrived or artsy. He created many powerful sentences and phrases that still live in the American spirit, and yet, for all the ringing words we love and hold close there are many thoughts and arguments that many people, including myself, find difficult to accept on any level other than being by Emerson.

For all that we love in Self-Reliance and The American Scholar, we still have to deal with his mystic essay on the Over-soul. Many conservative Christians have problems with his Transcendentalist views of religion and Christ. Reading his thoughts on "The Lord's Supper" might be interesting simply because it is Emerson. However, most orthodox believers will not come close to being convinced and today's non-believers will find it difficult to work up the energy to try and figure out what the fuss is about.

His famous essays collected under the title of Nature are fascinating and poetic views of the natural world. At least they seem that way to our more technical age. We see his Enlightenment confidence in reason and man's ability to discover the mechanisms of the Universe. While our science is remains rational, it is not quite so confident that everything can be easily discovered. We have found that for every depth we sound we discover that the bottom is only apparent. Things are deeper and stranger than the thinkers of Emerson's time ever dreamed.

This volume collects his essays and lectures into more than 1,100 pages of fascinating and wonderful reading. His poems and translations are collected into a separate volume also offered through the wonderful Library of America (don't hesitate to support them). The volume opens with a collection called "Nature; Addresses, and Lectures" and contains the eight chapters of Nature plus the four addresses The American Scholar, An Address to the Senior Class of Divinity College from 1838, Literary Ethics, and The Method of Nature. It also has five lectures: Man the Reformer, Introductory Lecture on the Times, The Conservative, The Transcendentalist, and The Young American.

There are then two collections of essays that contain famous titles such as History, Self-Reliance, The Over-Soul, The Poet, Manners, and Nature [yeah, I know it can get confusing]. This is followed by a collection called Representative Men. The seven chapters here are wonderful, but I cannot imagine anything like them being written today. The first chapter is titled "Uses of Great Men". I think I can here the deconstructionists swallowing their tongues. Then follows a chapter each for Plato the Philosopher, Swedenborg the Mystic [millions ask, WHO?], Montaigne the Skeptic, Shakespeare the poet, Napoleon the Man of the World, and Goethe the Writer.

The last two collections contain a number of short papers on English Traits and The Conduct of life. All interesting and full of Emersonian insight and beauty of language. The volume concludes with a Chronology of Emerson's life, notes on the texts, other notes, and an alphabetical index of titles (which is particularly useful given the re-use and similarity of some of these titles).

Ralph Waldo Emerson was and is by far one of the most brilliant writers of American Literature. His writings are his collection of thoughts...both wise, and complicated. As if he is writing his deep most private thoughts into a diary meant to be read. You read his essays and lectures, and just feel as if you have just been exposed to something different in your life.

However, don't just take my word for it. After all, I am only sixteen years old. But this book is brilliant.

I think it is probably safe to assert that to read Emerson is to be forever indebted to him. His wording, his clearness of thought, his determination, his warmth... He has all the qualities one could ask for in a writer, and all one could ask for in a mentor. Nietzsche held Emerson's books the closest, and said they were above his praise; Borges added: "Whitman and Poe have overshadowed Emerson's glory, as inventors, as founders of cults; line by line, they are inferior to him." James, the very Whitman, Proust, Frost, have all also praised him sincerely. Judging from other reviews, the love for Emerson hasn't diminished, more than a century after his passing.

For those who are not familiar with his works, it should be noted that Emerson is, without a doubt, a very unique writer. I was surprised when I realized that there is more poetry in his philosophy than in most verse books, yet he is always lucid; and that his poems, although hued by an impressive depth of thought, remain always passionate. He was renown as a brilliant lecturer, and his essays have all the force and immediacy of the oral form. Few people are so rich in memorable aphorisms - one finds a treasure of a quote in every sentence: "A drop is a small ocean"; "We are not built like a ship to be tossed, but like a house to stand"; "Whoso be a man, must be a non conformist"; "Punishment is a fruit that unsuspected ripens within the pleasure which concealed it"...

This was one of the first books the Library of America ever published, and with good reason: Emerson's writings are a Library of America on their own. This volume contains most of his major works, with the usual LOA excellency: beautiful green-cloth binding, a silk-ribbon marker, clear, acid-free, bible-thin paper, a short chronology, and a few useful notes. (No introduction of any kind, also as usual.) In short: a must buy, whether you are new to Emerson or not. My only complain is that this represents only about a half of his actual output, leaving out such important pieces as "The Lord's Supper", "The Fugitive Slave Law", the books Society and Solitude and Letters and Social Aims, his writings on Thoreau, Carlyle, Lincoln, and John Brown, and many other pieces just as revealing as the ones included here - not even counting the 15 volumes worth of journals he wrote throughout his life.

The fact that it's been more than a decade since the publication of the slight Complete Poems and Translations makes me fear LOA has neglected one of America's most beloved authors by giving priority to comparatively minor releases -like those on journalism and film criticism. Why can't Emerson get the same deserved treatment as Henry James, who by the way has now over 12 well-earned LOA volumes published? Just one more book would make this the definite edition of RWE's works; as it is, the huge and expensive Centenary Edition remains untouched as the most comprehensive one available. Furthermore, the "Uncollected Prose" section is no longer included; I can only hope it means they are saving it for a future volume. (It's been 15 years since they took it out, so I'm not holding my breath.)

Those looking for a cheaper introduction should probably check out the excellent Modern Library's The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, which besides a very generous collection of essays has a nice introduction, a selection of poems, and a few important pieces not included here.

To put it simply, if you have any interest in philosophy, literature, poetry, religion, or life, read Emerson. You may not be convinced by his arguments, but there's no point in nodding your way through a book. What remains after you finish reading it is what counts, and few writers can be found whose works are as pervasive and fondly remembered as Emerson's are.

This plan or movement by Tim Cox is one of those things you think to yourself, "why didn't someone do this before?". This book makes you think about all of the important issues that we, as Americans are facing today and what we can do about them. It makes you believe that you don't have to sit on the sidelines any longer but that you can actually do something about the career politicians who are ruining our country. Our United States of America can go back to being 'by the people, and for the people", we just have to act. Great book, great read! Buy this book!

Of couse we want change! Thank you to Tim Cox for doing something about it. In this book, he came up with a very workable plan and tells you how easy it is to follow it. It's not about what your political beliefs are, it's about giving the House back to the people, where it was always intended to be. With this plan, the people, not the politicians, have the platform they need to make the changes in policy that do actually benefit the people, not government or corporations. It's as easy or easier than just doing whatever your currently doing, and it makes so much sense, it is a shame not to read this book, even if politics do not interest you. It's about politics, but it's not political, and you don't have to understand politics to understand this book and learn how to help our country be as it should-in the hands of the people.

Computer scientist Tim Cox has devised a revolutionary plan for putting ordinary patriots like you and me in every seat in the House of Representatives, taking control from the two political parties which currently run our country. He knows his history (the founding fathers are repeatedly cited), he's got his statistics down straight (95% of all elections are won by an incumbent - that's how often the outcome of a race is known), and he's got a plan in Get Out of Our House (GOOOH, which is pronounced simply "go").

His book makes a powerful impact by first outlining his plan at a high level. It is a reasonable call to action, asking all of us to find trustworthy candidates in our everyday life. He outlines the steps for sweeping November with grassroots action, and both the enthusiast and the skeptic can find plenty of details on the website named for the plan's acronym. Only after describing the movement at a high level does Cox make his case for the imperative need to evict the current legislature, sever special interest ties, and obliterate the restrictive two-party system. True to his scientific background, the plan centers on a 100-point candidate questionnaire, to which GOOOH's politicians would be held accountable in office. He has designed a democratic, self-funded system for electing leaders from among the many qualified citizens of our country.

Tim Cox's GOOOH plan has opened my mind, and I'll be passing my copy of the book along to friends and family in the next few months. He has made a compelling case for a revolution which is conducted entirely WITHIN the our Constitutional system.

This is an outstanding book about a process to change the way US Representatives are elected. It will help bring about a way for ordinary Americans to make a positive difference in our government. This is an innovative plan and I encourage all to read it and become involved.

Let me assure you that this is the most compelling political book you will ever read. It will get you to stand up and say "Yes! I too can make a difference!"

The book asks the following questions and provides a way to address all of them:

* Could you do a better job than the politicians in Washington today?
* Are you fed up with partisan politics?
* Are you tired of the corruption?
* Have you had it with the influence of special interest money?
* Do you want to be the one to make a difference but don't know how?

If you answered yes to at least one of the above questions you must read this book!

This is usually the third book you read in a Political Philosophy course after "The Republic" and the "Nichomachean Ethics".

Locke comes to an understanding of "society", "government", and "property", among a number of notions central to our way of life. Doing that, he's also justifying them, as they exist. He states better and more clearly than anyone else what it is we think these things are and why we should view them as good. I don't know if anyone is thought to have done these particular things any better. (I guess I'm saying that Hobbes, Rousseau, etc., did other things.)

Lots of good stuff written here on this. Just think it's worth pointing out that Locke's argument for man's leaving the state of nature and his argument for the establishment of property are notoriously inconsistent.

The "state of nature" is more rhetorical device or thought-experiment than historical description. Nonetheless, it is essential to the argument.

Oh well. Plato's dialogues often end in despair.

I wish more people knew political philosophy. It would raise the general level of discussion. People would spend less time monkeying demagogues, charlatans, and hucksters.

Good edition too.

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"

In his book, Second Treatise of Government, John Locke (1632 - 1704) writes that all humans are born equal with the same ability to reason for themselves, and because of this, government should have limitations to ensure that people are free from the arbitrary will of another person, according to the laws of nature. Government, in Locke's view, is a social contract between the people in control, and the people who submit to it.

The editor of this edition, C. B. Macpherson, gives a little background and overview in his introduction to this book. He writes that the book "was directed against the principles of Sir Robert Filmer, whose books, asserting the divine authority of kings and denying any right of resistance, were thought by Locke and his fellow Whigs to be too influential among the gentry to be left unchallenged by those who held that resistance to an arbitrary monarch might be justified." (p. viii)
Locke's book served as a philosophical justification for revolting against tyrannical monarchies in the Glorious Revolution and the American Revolution. His book was practically quoted in the Declaration of Independence.

Locke lays out his basis for government on the foundation that people are able to reason. Because of this, people have inherent freedoms or natural rights. Though he believed in reason, Locke was an empiricist, meaning he believed that all knowledge of the world comes from what our senses tell us. The mind starts as a "tabula rasa", latin for an empty slate. As soon as we are born, we immediately begin learning ideas. Thus, all the material for our knowledge of the world comes to us through sensations. Nevertheless, Locke had an unshakable faith in human reason. He believed that people do learn what is right and wrong, regardless of what they choose to do. Locke believed that faith in God, certain moral norms and understanding consequences were inherent in human reason. So, even though people acquire everything they know about the world through the senses, they are able to think for themselves and reason at a higher level about what they learn.

Locke presumed that there are universally recognized principles and that the consequences are practically scientific. He was greatly influenced by Isaac Newton (1647-1727) who wrote The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Locke took the ideas that there were "natural laws" in science and tried to extend that to society.

Natural laws, or rights, in Locke's view, are obvious and learned through human reasoning, and apply to everyone. They are also called "self-evident," which appears in The Declaration of Independence. All humans are created equal, and Locke bases this idea on the golden rule, that people are to do to others as they would have others do to them. Natural equality is the basis of the first and most important "natural law" which is to care for one another. (p. 9) Locke believes that with or without government, there were universal natural rights.

Without government, people are unprotected from harm by other people. Where there is no government, people are free to do as they please, even to harm others. In this state, natural laws still apply, such as the right of people to protect themselves and seek reparation for injuries done to them. However, people are naturally inconsistent in executing punishments, because they have a propensity to act out of hate or revenge. Therefore, laws are necessary in a civil society to fairly arbitrate justice. The purpose of creating a civil society is to avoid major conflicts and keep peace.
Thus, civil government is a "contract" between people to regulate their affairs fairly. According to Locke's theories, people enter into a social contract by forming governments that will preserve order.

Locke describes a civil government as being democratic with some checks to ensure that it does not overstep its boundaries, and having both legislative and executive powers. A civil government is democratic or representative, meaning laws are created by the consent of the people through the voice of a majority vote. The legislature should represent the people equally based on population. (Salus populi suprema lex) All people are subject to the law, including the rulers-no one is above the law. Even the legislature needs "standing rules" to keep it from over-stepping its boundaries. Locke advocated the principle of division of powers. Because the legislature only meets at appointed times to create or revise laws, there needs to be an executive power that is constantly enforcing the laws. So Locke describes a division of the legislative and executive powers.

In contrast to what was being claimed by the rulers of the time, Locke taught that the purpose of government is to serve and benefit the people and that it should be controlled by the people for which the government was made. His claim that people have the right to rebel against government was controversial. Second Treatise of Government served as a foundation for future political philosophies.

John Locke's Second Treatise on Government is the Natural Rights philosophy's greatest essay. Locke, an English freethinker, wrote both his Frist and Second Treatise on Government to refute the patriarchial and absolutist writings of Sir Robert Filmer. Locke clearly believes man is imbued with the natural right to life, liberty, and property. He believes men have a right to live free from tyrannical government.

Locke shows how when a government degenerates into tyranny the "people" have a right to revolt and throw off such government. Sound familar? Jefferson wrote these words into the Declaration of Independence. Locke believes that liberty is a man's right by his very nature of being human. He points out how that men come together to form a government, based upon a social contract, and that the rulers or government must abide by that contract or man returns to his natural state. In the natural state men are not bound to the current ruler but may institute new government for their security and protection.

Although he believed that government should not be changed lightly or on a whim, and believed that the ruler must violate the contract and usurp power, he nevertheless pointed out that government is of men, not God or gods. He repudiated the doctrine propagated by Filmer, that rulers are appointed to rule by God, ie: the Divine Right of Kings.

This "wee little book" as Jefferson put it, has had a tremendous influence on the Western world. Locke, a child of the English Enlightenment has caused conservatives and other tyrants, socialists and communists to shudder at the right to throw off tyrannical government. A truly great read.

John Locke (1632-1704) wrote "Second Treatise of Government" in 1690, it was the main political philosophical source that our "Founding Fathers" went to in writing the "Declaration of Independence" and in forming our government. I think you should know something of Locke to understand what influenced his thinking. His father was a small landowner, attorney, Puritan and his political sympathies were with the Cromwell Parliament. Like Hobbes, Locke attended Oxford Univ. and did not think much about the curriculum or his professors. Most of his education came from reading books in the Univ. library. Renee Descartes and Sir Isaac Newton's writings greatly influenced Locke. Like Hobbes, he took a tutoring job teaching the son of the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, and traveled Europe. His friendship with the Earl was beneficial in obtaining government appointments. During the political unrest in England, (1679-83) he fled to Holland because his liberal notions put him at odds with the government.

Locke writes the "Second Treatise of Government" to justify the Revolt of 1688 and the ascension of William of Orange to the English throne. The book argues against two lines of absolutist ideas. The first is Sir Robert Filmer's "patriarchal theory of divine right of kings; secondly, Hobbes argument for the sovereign's absolute power in his book "Leviathan." Locke argues that government emanates from the people. Locke's treatise rests like other political writings on its interpretation of human nature. He sees our nature opposite the way Hobbes did, decent and not as selfish or competitive. Man is more inclined to join society through reason and not fear. Man prefers stability to change.

His very important contribution to "law of nature" theory was his bias toward individualism. In state of nature, before government, men were free independent, equal enjoying inalienable rights "chief among them being life, liberty, and property." Where have you read that before? Property rights receive much attention in this treatise. Locke argues that government based on consent of man can still preserve freedom independence and equality.

His political writing had immediate influence in the world and influenced our founding fathers in their struggle against tyranny. He is an excellent writer and his theories are easy to understand by the laymen. As a graduate student of political philosophy, I recommend if you have an interest in politics, philosophy, or government then you must read Locke's "Second Treatise of Government"

This work is thorough, but at the same time simple and concise. It is essentially a collection of documents that relate to important events in Chinese history with short background sections introducing most works and longer introductions when a new period of history is covered. I believe that this is currently the most complete single volume on the market as it runs from the early 1600's all the way up to 1989, covering the Qing Dynasty, its collapse, the Nationalist Revolution and later the Communist Revolution, up through the ideas behind the Tienanmen Square demonstrations and the modern reevaluation of Confucianism. If you only want one volume on modern Chinese history that focuses on the sources, I think this is probably the one to have.

This book gets the majority of its bulk from direct translations of actual Chinese texts, and as such it is an indespensible tool for any student interested in Chinese religions and philosohpies. There is very little input on the part of the editors and I, personally, was very thankful this. It can be dreadfully difficult trying to find sources that aren't mired in thousands of pages of theory and speculation, and sometimes a person just needs the root text! An awesome book.

I'll make this short...For anyone interested in Chinese history, literature, or culture, this volume is an absolutely essential collection of primary sources, and includes prefaces and explanations by China scholars. There is no one better than de Bary, and this new edition includes everything from the 1960 edition up through the Jiang Zemin era.

This book is a collection of readings dealing with ancient Chinese history, especially focusing on philosophy and religion. The readings are organized into chapters related to various stages in Chinese history. Early chapters cover antiquity, Confucius, Mo Tzu, and Taoism. Then comes Confucian tradition, the Legalists, the Imperial Order, the Universal Order, and the Economic Order. This is followed by the Great Han Historians, Neo-Taoism, and Buddhism. This volume is rounded out with the Confucian revival and neo-Confucianism. Each chapter begins with a short introduction essay that introduces the context and events of the time and goes to a selection of original texts on the topic at hand. At the beginning of the book is a chronological table of Chinese history from 2852 BC to 1849 AD that highlights various events in Chinese political philosophy.

This book is a great resource for the serious student of Chinese philosophy and culture. The essays and readings provide a unique window into Chinese thought. The authors assume that the reader will have a basic familiarity with the overall picture of Chinese history, and provide many details and insights into why history took the course that it did. I found the reading selections, drawn from such documents as the Analects of Confucius or historical documents like Ma tuan-Lin's Introduction to the Survey on the Land Tax, particularly illuminating. To find so many documents such as these presented in English, together with essays that explain their context and importance, is invaluable for the serious Asian studies scholar.

This book is excellent for anyone wanting to read primary source information. It is a great help for any college student or proffessor interested in the Chinese Culture. I highly recommend this to any one who is interested in Chinese history.

This book gives you insight into the day-to-day challenges, obstacles and joys of being a pharm sales rep. I strongly encourage anyone considering this field as an occupation to read this book before beginning their interview process. Many of the things I learned from this book I was able to refer to during my job interview with a Fortune 25 company. It helped me land this job very quickly because I was aware of the day-to-day aspects of being successful as a Pharm Sales Rep.

The Author's style is a little like "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School" By Mark H. McCormick and it is superbly layed out carefully just for Pharmaceutical Sales.

This text is an excellent easy read (read it in one day); in one word I describe it as a 'pleasant read'; not too involved but just enough; in other words this a well written and carefully balanced book IMHO.

I particulary enjoyed the explanation of industry buzzwords and acronyms. Mostly, I like how the author ties in the whole process of where the territory sales rep 'fits' into the Pharmacutical-MCO-PBM areas as a whole; this really puts everything in great perspective. I think its called "synergistic approach".

In addition, this work helped me appreciate all the hardwork that goes into becoming a pharm rep. It describes things as a process and what the positives/negatives are. It essentially takes you through a "day-in-the-life" so to speak of what its like to be a pharm rep.

This sucker should be in every college career center library for sure. If you are interested or even thinking about wanting to know what it is that Pharm reps do (and to see if you might have what it takes) then this book is for you.

;-)

Most books on this topic drone on about the perks of the business. While it's true, it often sugar-coats the fact that this job is a demanding one, and isn't really a cake-walk.

This is one of the few books that reviews the "downside" as well as what's great about being a drug rep. Having been in the industry for more than 11 years, I've heard a lot of recruiters try to tell people what it's like to be a rep. The problem is, the recruiter has never been a pharmaceutical sales rep, so it's hard for them to give coaching and advice to someone who wants to break into the industry.

Besides that, recruiters are not used as often as they were before due to cost constraints. As Currier points out, networking can be a key element in a job search.

This book reviews what to consider when making the decision to be a drug rep. It also does an excellent job of outlining what to do when you're first hired into a company -- from trunk organization to the "no-see" physician; from the hospital display to the pharmacy call -- it's all here.

If you don't read this book, you're missing out on a lot of outstanding information.

Over the past 20 years, I have had experience with the pharmaceutical industry as an employee, customer, and vendor. Of all the books out there, this book provides the best overview on a pharmaceutical sales career for someone considering this profession. This includes college students interested in pharmaceutical sales, anyone considering a career change, and job applicants or newly hired representatives.

The book is clearly written and fast-paced and does a great job of capturing the ups and downs of pharmaceutical selling, how to get a job, and the everyday tasks of the rep. It has some good suggestions for how to generate sales, including a Top Ten Tips list in the last chapter. I also liked the attention to the customer's (doctor's) wants and needs, as this is really
what selling is all about.

Easy reading and informative. However it seems to be better geared to those who have just entered the industry. There are better sources for those looking to crack the competitive field of Pharmaceutical Sales.

this isn't the highest quality paper, but it's an economical way to get three works. there is not much in the way of editorial content, but depending on your interests that may be fine.

I read this book for a graduate class in Philosophy. Dr. Dale Miller who was the editor for this book was my professor. He is excellent and an expert on J. S. Mill. Recommended reading for anyone interested in philosophy, political science, and history.

John Stuart Mill, 1806-73, worked for the East India Co. helped run Colonial India from England. Minister of Parliament 1865-68 he served one term. Maiden speech was a disaster his second was great success. He was first MP to propose that women should be given the vote on equal footing with the men who could vote. He got 1/3 support, England gives franchise to women after U.S. He was a great Feminist, his essay "Subjection of Women" is written with great passion and prose. It was a brave position for him to take he was ridiculed for it. He favored democracy, and letting more men from lower classes the right to vote, but believed that people that are more educated should have more votes then less educated because they would make better decisions about what government should do. He would have wanted to extend education to the masses, so that all may have gotten 2-3 votes and so on. He didn't think it should be extended to where a small elite could carry the day on votes. The idea was that if the working class, and middle class, where divided on an issue, the people with more intelligence would have the power to tip the balance. Mill thought that people with more education would probably not only be better able to make political decisions, especially in terms of intellectually being able to see what would be best for the government to do, but that they would also be more concerned about the common good publicly then people in general. He was intensely educated by his father James. John could read Greek, and Latin at 6 yrs.; his Dad tutored him at home. Dad thought environment was everything. He was treated like an adult, never played games with kids; he had a very cerebral upbringing. He had a period of depression in his twenties, it changed his philosophy, and he recognized the importance of developing feelings along with the intellect, this is something that he stressed in his work. He read poetry to get out of depression; he became devoted to poetry and became a romantic. He fell in love with a married woman Harriet Taylor, was a platonic relationship, after her husband's death they married 3 years later and probably never consummated the marriage maybe due to Harriet having syphilis. His dedication to "On Liberty" is to her, very devoted to each other. Both buried together in Avignon France where they used to vacation.

Mill as a moral theorist subscribed to a theory we call Utilitarianism. It means---In some way morality is about the maximization of happiness. Whether actions are right or wrong depends on how happiness can be most effectively maximized. I say in some way, because there are allot of different kinds of Utilitarians. Allot of different ways of saying exactly how it is the maximization of happiness comes into morality. Therefore, happiness is clearly an important idea for Utilitarians. Mill has a hedonistic view of happiness, he thinks that happiness can be defined in terms of "pleasure in the absence of pain." What is distinctive about Mill in this area is that he believes that some kinds of pleasure are better than others are, and add more to a person's happiness than other kinds of pleasures. He believes in what he calls, "higher quality pleasures." These are pleasures, he says, that we get from the exercise of faculties that only human beings happen to have. So the intellect, imagination, the moral feelings, these are the sources of higher quality pleasures people use. His view seems to be that a certain quantity of intellectual pleasure just adds more to your happiness, and a given quantity of some lower pleasure like a kind we would share with the animals such as sensation, taste, sexual pleasure, etc. His "higher quality pleasures" in a way echo Aristotle's ethics. The idea of those things that make us distinctly human that are the real key to our happiness, that is in Mill also. It is not as limited to reason and intellect as Aristotle thinks. Mill recognizes the importance of the appreciation of beauty, aesthetic pleasure, and moral pleasure. He frankly owes a debt to Aristotle that he never properly acknowledges, never gives him proper credit.

"On Liberty" is Mill's is his most widely read and enduring work. It is an indispensable essay on political thought, which strenuously argues for individual liberty. He is defending what he calls the "liberty principle." It is a principle that guarantees individuals quite a bit of personal freedom. "That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant." These quoted sentences in John Stuart Mill's book, "On Liberty," embody the crux of his argument; that the power of the state must intrude as little as possible on the liberty of its citizenry. In essence, Mill was against using the power of the state through its lawmaking apparatus to compel citizens to conduct themselves in ways that society deems moral or appropriate. Mill thought that people had not only a right, but also a duty to develop their intellectual faculties, which is indispensable to maximize their happiness. He believed that society improved for all its citizens when they where left unfettered to the maximum extent possible, allowing them to use their imagination and intellect to improve themselves. Mill postulates a theory that societies usually institute laws based primarily on "personal preference" of its citizenry instead of established principles. This lack of clarity of opinion often leads to the government frequently interfering in the lives of its citizens unnecessarily. For Mill, there are very few times when the state can infringe on the personal liberty of others. Firstly, the state has the right to promulgate laws that prevent a person's actions from harming others. Secondly, the state must protect those citizens who are not mature enough to protect themselves, such as children. Thirdly, he exempts, "... backward states of society in which the race itself may be considered as in its nonage." In Mill's view, immature societies need a benevolent leader to rule them until they have developed to a point where they, "... have attained the capacity of being guided to their own improvement by conviction or persuasion ..." Mill said this third exemption did not apply to any of the countries in Europe. Mill believed that forced morality by the state on its citizen's liberties was destructive to their inward development, and could even lead to a violent reaction by them against the government.


There are different parts of his defense of this, different arguments that he gives. He has a long chapter on freedom of speech and press. He has some very specific reasons why he thinks those freedoms are important. Always in the background for Mill is the idea of development, and making it possible for more people to enjoy these higher quality pleasures. How do we help people develop their distinctly human faculties, in ways that will help them enjoy their higher quality pleasures? Because for him that is the way, we maximize the total amount of happiness that is enjoyed in the world, and that is the object of morality as far as he is concerned. Utilitarianists believe that maximizing happiness is ultimately, what morality is all about. That does not mean maximizing your own happiness that means maximizing the total amount of happiness that is enjoyed, not only by yourself but also by everybody else as well.

Roger Kimball, in his book "Experiments Against Reality" wrote, "On Liberty" was published in 1859, coincidentally the same year as "On the Origin of Species." Darwin's book has been credited--and blamed--for all manner of moral and religious mischief. But in the long run "On Liberty" may have effected an even greater revolution in sentiment.

Not that Mill was ever obscure or inaccessible, but while Prof Schneewind's Introduction adds little value, the notes and annotations by Dale E Miller certainly renders this compendium transparent, even to folks like me who have been dumbed down by years of television debates as primary intellectual nourishment. He enlightens each of Mill's chapters with a short and easily assimilated introductory overview. Complementing this with text annotations, collected at the back of the book. The annotations appear to be very well selected, as they are never too numerous to make flipping to the back of the book tedious, yet they manage to illuminate every aspect or item I might have found even remotely confusing, ambiguous or otherwise incomprehensible in the modern idiom.

This text is an excellent starting point for reading JS Mill, and is very well suited to the armchair philosopher who wishes to get into the material with ease and without encumbrance. However, there may be too little in the annotations in terms of external references, or cross references to Mill's other writings, or background information to satisfy the more academically inclined.

Of course anyone with even a nominal interest in what liberty is... NEEDS to read JS Mill. But then, you wouldn't be here if you didn't know that, right?

I am interested in Mill's contributions to utilitarian philosophy. Utilitarianism holds that morals should be based upon those acts which promote the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Human actions which foster happiness are held to be right, while those which yield the converse are wrong. Mill defines happiness as intended pleasure with the absence of pain. Also, he maintains that intended pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as personal ends. Pleasure which employs one's higher faculties tends to give more satisfaction than baser pleasures, or mere sensations. Few humans would exchange their limited, fleeting pleasures for the fullest ration of the pleasures of the "lower" animals. Since a noble character is made happier by its nobleness, utilitarianism can only attain its end towards the multiplication of happiness through a general elevation of the nobleness of the character of the larger population.

Mill states that pleasures and pains have different values to the actor. Only the judgment honed by experience can assist us in assessing appropriate trade-offs in acquiring a particular pleasure at the cost of gaining a specific pain as well. This type of cost/benefit analysis advocated by utilitarians gives rise to the criticism that utilitarianism results in coldness and lack of sympathy towards others. However, Mill claims that the proof of the worth of utilitarianism, or any other moral system, lies in its ability to produce good results.

Although it is sometimes difficult to wade through the dryness of Mill's rhetoric, it is truly worth it for the philosophical insights contained. This book is a good survey of Mill's thoughts on utilitarian ethics and many other subjects of value.

One of the main writers on liberty, J.S. Mill is often overlooked in introductory courses in Political Theory courses. I bought this books as a supplement in my class and it was a wonderful read that gave me an advantage. This book contains some of Mill's best work and the notes added by Schneewind give them an extra dimention and a few explanations that I am glad I had.