Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader (5th Edition),   ISBN:9780321159755

Customer Rating: 

As a companion reader to Ideals and Ideologies, this reader is an excellent compostion of essays and writings that will challenge and encourage political thought. It is good for anyone wanting a broad overview of many different ideologies, rather than focusing on one in particular. It is historical so I recommend it for non-political readers as well. This work gives a good overview of the diverse ways in which men see government working and ruling in the affairs of men.

Customer Rating: 

This book is woefully over-rated. Having read it in a political science class, this book was full of oversimplifications, sweeping generalizations, liberal indoctrination, and a-historical information. The breadth was terrible, as was the depth. The authors left numerous critical points out of the book. The fact that they didn't include a chapter on Zionism is proof of this. They also made sweeping generalizations about 9/11 and events which led to the Oklahoma City bombing. These authors are either completely inept historians, or they're blatantly taking sides. Either way, there's no excuse for the poor writing here. It's not necessarily what's written in the book, but what's left out! History cannot be "politically correct". If these authors really practiced ethics in their writing they would have presented ALL the information in a straight-forward unbiased manner, allowing the reader to come to his or her own conclusion. Truly dissapointing. Not recommended at all.

Customer Rating: 

I reread this wonderful collection of seminal works of political philosophy often. I used it in my course on ideology. Students will find it challenging to work through, if you assign selections indescriminantly. That is why this reader is meant to complement an equally wonderful textbook written by the same authors. The scope here is awe-inspiring. We begin with Euripides and Pericles in the ancient Greece and end with the latest crypto ideological movements, such as feminism, animal rights activism, green politics, and the end of history thesis. I think that all selections are enlightening. This should be a must book for anyone specializing in political theory, intellectual history, or anyone who wants to understand or effectively employ ideological rhetoric. Great book.

Customer Rating: 

The editors have done a good job of including most of the major areas of western political thought of the last two thousand years. A bit skimpy on classical works, but well grounded in more contemporary times and the foundational thought of American and Western democratic ideals. The contents have been edited to ensure that the message is not lost in prose, and the average reader should be able to enjoy the readings, also getting a clear sense of what the original author intended to say. Aimed at the Higher Education market it is a little pricey, but a buy for the shelf of anyone interested in this subjecr area.