The Metaphysical Club

Dates Covered: 1850 - 1919
ISBN: 0374199639
HH Rating:

Our Take

When an English professor tackles history, one tends to get ancy. Non historians are often the most popular history writers because they can tell a good yarn without getting to involved in the inevitably complicated interpretations professional historians relish; yet they often leave rigor on the side of the road. No matter. In what amounts to a quadruple biography, Mr. Menard does an excellent job of charting the birth of modern freedom of speech and cultural pluralism by examining the events that shaped the protagonists' lives. Hold on tight -- the author has the gift of vision but not focus. His asides can span entire chapters and leave the reader a bit bewildered.. It's always worth thinking about why we believe what we do, and thinking about it with The Metaphysical Club is revealing.

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