Bertrand Russell

Alan Ryan

"I have tried to say what I think of man's place in the universe and of his possibilities of achieving the good life." Preface.

What I Believe

Both a history and an examination of human thought and behavior spanning three thousand years, thrillingly traces the origins of political philosophy from the ancient Greeks to Machiavelli in Book I and from Hobbes to the present age in Book II. Whether examining Lord Acton’s dictum that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” or explicating John Stuart Mill’s contention that it is “better to be a human dissatisfied than a pig satisfied,” Alan Ryan evokes the lives and minds of our greatest thinkers in a way that makes reading about them a transcendent experience. Whether writing about Plato or Augustine, de Toqueville or Thomas Jefferson, Ryan brings a wisdom to his text that illuminates John Dewey’s belief that the role of philosophy is less to see truth than to enhance experience. With this unparalleled tour de force, Ryan emerges in his own right as one of the most influential political philosophers of our time.

A History of Political Thought - From Herodotus to the Present

On Politics

Professor of Politics Alan Ryan

Dead White

/Alan Ryan, editor Collected here are 32 stories featuring the frightening creature--the vampire. Just in time for Halloween, this character will be shown in all its forms--male, female, alive, undead, on the prowl, in the bedroom, hungry and hedonistic, doomed and

The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories

A magisterial, one-volume history of political thought from Herodotus to the present, Ancient Athens to modern democracy - from author and professor Alan Ryan This is a book about the answers that historians, philosophers, theologians, practising politicians and would-be revolutionaries have given to one question: how should human beings best govern themselves? Almost every modern government claims to be democratic; but is democracy really the best way of organising our political life? Can we manage our own affairs at all? Should we even try? In the west, do we actually live in democracies? In this extraordinary book Alan Ryan engages with the great thinkers of the past to show us how vividly their ideas speak to us in today's uncertain world. ALAN RYAN was born in London in 1940 and taught for many years at Oxford, where he was a Fellow of New College and Reader in Politics. He was Professor of Politics at Princeton from 1988 to 1996, when he returned to Oxford to become Warden of New College and Professor of Political Theory until his retirement in 2009. His previous books include The Philosophy of John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life and John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism. He is a Fellow of the British Academy. Reviews of On Politics: 'An engaging and smart survey of major political thinkers ... Through Ryan [they] speak directly to the present' Mark Mazower, Prospect 'Ryan's book is a magnificent piece of work, clear (even when the ideas he's exploring are obscure) and engaging (even when the theory in the original is forbidding) ... anyone remotely interested in political theory will profit from reading or dipping into Ryan's On Politics, whether this is their first acquaintance with the canon of political theory or whether they have been "Hobbing and Locking" for decades ... It's a remarkable experience' Jeremy Waldron, New York Review of Books 'Ambitiously and elegantly covers two and a half millennia of political thinking ... despite covering huge intellectual terrain, [On Politics] a delight both when it explores detail and also when it draws conclusions of a broader perspective' Justin Champion, BBC History Magazine 'On Politics is crammed with smart observations and wise advice' John Keane, Financial Times 'An impressive achievement' Economist

Cast a Cold Eye

Contains a chronology of Machiavelli's life, an introduction and text by Alan Ryan that provides context and analysis, and key excerpts from Machiavelli's The Prince and his Discourses.

the search for glory

On Machiavelli

This is a book about the answers that historians, philosophers, theologians, practising politicians and would-be revolutionaries have given to one question:how should human beings best govern themselves? That question raises innumerable others: can we manage our own affairs at all? Should we even try? Many people in the past have thought that only some individuals were either able or entitled to practise self-government: Greeks, but not Persians; men, but not women; the better-off minority, but not the poor majority. Others have thought that few of us have any desire to govern ourselves, and that government is inevitably a matter of a competent elite managing an acquiescent mass. Then, what do we mean by 'freedom' today, and is it the same freedom that people enjoyed, or strove for, in the past? Almost every modern government claims to be democratic; but is democracy really the best way of organising our political life? For almost two thousand years, educated opinion said not. Today, educated opinion says yes. In the modern west, do we actually live in democracies? They certainly do not resemble what the Athenians fought and died to preserve. It seems that there may be less agreement than we might think about how human beings can best govern themselves. In this extraordinary book, more that thirty years in the making, Alan Ryan engages with the great thinkers of the past to explain their ideas with a lucidity which makes the book compelling reading. While acknowledging how much separates us from our intellectual forebears, he reminds us how often the ideas of long-dead or distant thinkers are more alive, and speak to us more vividly and immediately, than those of our contemporaries. At a time when we sometimes feel that the problems of the globe will simply overwhelm our ability to control them, he provides a peerless guide to the ways in which the problems of politics have been thought about by the greatest minds of our civilization.

Finally in a one-volume paperback edition, On Politics is one of the most ambitious and hugely readable histories of political philosophy in nearly a century. Praised widely upon hardcover publication, Alan Ryan’s “masterpiece” (David Ulin, Los Angeles Times) blends history and philosophy to examine three thousand years of political thought. Drawing on three decades of research, Ryan insightfully traces the origins of political philosophy from the ancient Greeks to the present and evokes the lives and minds of our greatest thinkers in a way that makes reading about them a “remarkable experience” (Jeremy Waldron, New York Review of Books). Whether writing about Plato or Augustine, Tocqueville or Jefferson, Ryan illuminates John Dewey’s dictum that the role of philosophy is less to see truth than to enhance life. With this “epic” (John Keane, Financial Times) tour de force, Ryan affirms his place as one of the most influential political philosophers of our time.

A History of Political Thought: From Herodotus to the Present

Applies a philosophical analysis of the natural sciences to the social sciences.

The Philosophy of The Social Sciences

The Kill

Panther

Halloween Horrors

A collection of thirty vampire stories by such authors as Bram Stoker, Fritz Leiber, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Charles L. Grant, Tanith Lee, and Ramsey Campbell

Two Centuries of Great Vampire Stories

Vampires

Featuring excerpts from Democracy in America and The Old Regime & Revolution, an exploration of the observations on American life from a 19th-century French philosopher prove that his thoughts on “American Exceptionalism” are still relevant today.

Democracy and America

On Tocqueville

Various

Featuring such masters of horror and fantasy as Bram Stoker, Fritz Leiber, and Tanith Lee, this chilling volume contains 33 short stories, all centering around the theme of the dreaded vampire in all his irresistible and fearsome forms.

The Penguin Book of Vampire Stories Counter Display

Explores the ways in which the educational system can combat such problems as a degenerating democratic system, lack of creative thinking, and moral and spiritual decline

Liberal Anxieties and Liberal Education

Tocqueville’s gifts as an observer and commentator on American life and democracy are brought to vivid life in this splendid volume. In On Tocqueville, Alan Ryan brilliantly illuminates the observations of the French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, who first journeyed to the United States in 1831 and went on to catalog the unique features of the American social contract in his two-volume masterpiece, Democracy in America. Often thought of as the father of "American Exceptionalism," Tocqueville sought to observe the social conditions of emerging political equality in America, "a river that may be channeled but cannot be stopped in its course." In choosing America, he posed a central question of how a moderate, stable, and constitutional government is to be maintained in the wake of a revolution. As a dispassionate visitor, Tocqueville wanted to discover the social, moral, and economic arrangements that made liberty and self-government possible. In doing so, Tocqueville made a number of prescient observations about American life—whether it be the contrast between equality and liberty or Americans’ belief that they all belong to the middle class—that remain as relevant today as when they were first written. While Tocqueville is often praised by both conservatives and liberals, either for his distrust of big government and fondness for decentralized power or for his concern with association and community, both tend to overlook his contempt for the “coarse appearance” of the individual members of Congress as well as his enthusiasm for the brutal nature of our prison system. Alan Ryan examines the often complicated and elusive Democracy in America, tracing the influence of writers such as Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Guizot, and explaining Tocqueville’s original conceptions of equality and individualism within their historical context. In Ryan’s hands, On Tocqueville becomes the perfect introduction and guide to Democracy in America. On Tocqueville: Democracy and America features: • a chronology of Alexis de Tocqueville's life • an introduction and text by Alan Ryan that provides crucial context and cogent analysis • key excerpts from Democracy in America

On Tocqueville: Democracy and America

Jack Quinlan, an American writer, travels to a small village in the remote western part of Ireland to research a book on the Irish Famine. The quiet, picturesque village seems just the place to spend a few months writing, but beneath its placid exterior lurk dark secrets. Why do the locals behave so strangely? What is Father Henning, the enigmatic parish priest, hiding? And what is the meaning of the strange ritual Jack observes in the cemetery? The search for answers will lead him to the terrifying discovery that the ghosts of the past linger on in the present, and they cry out for blood ... An atmospheric, haunting ghost story, Cast a Cold Eye (1984) is a slow burn horror novel that will keep readers in suspense until its chilling conclusion. ​

Alan Ryan

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