The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
As entertaining as it is enlightening, this analysis of the 100 books that have most influenced human history profiles such works as “1984″ by George Orwell, Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations”, Kant’s “Critique of Pure Reason”, Newton’s “Principia”, and “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. Photos & drawings.
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Review by Matthew C. Cummings for The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
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I struggled through the enitre book, and then read all the comments here, and the sum total of all of this is as follows:
1. Seymour Smith does suffer for the same impenetrable prose that he castigates many of the authors he is writing about, especially, as mentioned before, the lengthy sentence structure he is in love with. (As you can see, it is contagious)
2. Anyone who has not read at least 20% of the books in the table of contents need not try this book until they have. Smith is tracking influences in western thought and without a BA in Philosophy, you may not stand a chance
3. He is an agnostic liberal, and not liberal in the American Dem/Rep fashion, but as in liberal like a British left Labour type. His suggested venom towards the church, to be fair about it, is based mostly on judgements of the behavoir of the Catholic Church from 800 – 1700, which almost everyone can agree was not their finest hour.
4. His comments on Gnosticism are interesting as he sees a tie in between it and many of the undelying themes of modern religions. I would suggest anyone interested in this actually do some original source reading with an open mind. Smith does at least point you in some good directions for that.
5. Be prepared to consult a dictionary to define some words chosen by Smith. Also, many of the reviews expect that you have read the work in question. One unfortunately gets the feeling that Smith is sometimes either trying to show off his knowledge, or like many professors (and some I met at Oxford) one who just likes to hear himself talk.
In summation, the earlier the entry the better. His reviews of ancient literature are the best in the book, as he focuses much more on thinkers than pieces. However, by the end of the book, when he is discussing books that obviously had an impact on him as they were written, his prejudices against the authors are much more implicit. This is especially true is his feeble attempts to explain modern psycholgy, physics, and most of all, economics.
Read it if you are already well versed in the history of philosophy and want a new viewpoint on some old arguments. Use it as a guide for some items you might want to read in their original form. But, if you are looking for the Cliff’s Notes of these books, keep on trucking…
They are not to be found here…
Review by for The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
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I am sorry to admit that I have rather mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it is a fantastic collection of what are undoubtedly some of the most influential books know to man. Given the limitation of 100 books, Seymour-Smith has done a fine job, in terms of scope and of wise selection.HOWEVER, I have found this book to be one of the most convoluted reads I have ever experienced. For example, in the chapter concerning Wollstonecraft’s “Vindication of the Rights of Woman” (page 301), the reader is assaulted with this sentence: “William Goodwin, who became Mary’s loving husband – she lost her life after giving birth to their daughter, who became Mary Shelley – devoted much of his time to the memory of her and to the printing of her writings (including her letters to him in the candid and explicit ‘Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman); but for many years she was known as a “prostitute” and her ideas rejected on such grounds, or on grounds like it – “lascivious”, “disgusting”, “shameless”, “advocate of priapism” (this from a Rev. Polwhele, horrified by the discussion of the “organs of the generation” in one of her books).” A PERIOD! FINALLY A PERIOD! Alas, the books is full of such sentences, lined one after another throughout the book. One also needs a good encyclopedia readily available, as the book also has a number of editorial errors: for instance, the same chapter on Wollstonecraft states she was born in 1859 (page 301), when of course, this is not the case. I also noted some errors in the chapter on Heroditus.So, while I find the content of this book excellent beyond reproach (when it is not in error), I must say the writing itself is laborious to follow. Still, I would recommend the book as a good introduction to some classic books that should be on everyone’s reading list.
Review by W. Forrest for The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
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This was an interesting and useful book but Mr Seymour Smith is very opinionated and injects his opinion into every area of the book.
His personal politics also come to the fore much more often than necessary and welcome.
If you can get it at a deep discount it is worth it.
Review by C. C. Rath for The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
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If you want a dry philosophy text book that is stuffy and sensitive to the status quo then this book isn’t for you. Seymour-Smith is really hard on the establishment, particularly the Christian establishment. He’s not over fond of Political Correctness either. In a book that deals with epistemology I found his being highly opinionated most refreshing, another reason that I highly recommend this book: Seymour-Smith can be really funny.
Review by Richard Laird for The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Though from Ancient Times to Today
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OK, so it’s full of run-on (and on and on and on….) sentences, and it has an abundance of Christian-bashing (although raised a Christian, I did find myself agreeing with the author most of the time), and he did leave out the other Little Red Book, by Harvey Penick, but how can you not appreciate the sheer girth of this guy’s insight into all of these…. Sorry, I’d better end this sentence and start a new one. You see, not only have I read it through twice, but this book is a mainstay next to the toilet. Despite its obvious flaws, this collection of 100 refreshingly blunt book reports is simply one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever read. It stunningly reminded me of how limited my influences have been in shaping by beliefs (or lack of), and was instrumental in my decision to get a Masters in Social Science. I’m obviously not speaking to the nit-pickworthy scholars out there, but for the thirsty non-intellectuals ready to realize that most of what we know is what we’ve been told by other narrow minded (however well meaning) people. And arguing about who or what’s left out is a moot point; this book is merely a starting point to expanding our capacity for understanding others. Of course, like Mr. Seymour-Smith’s, all this is just my opinion.