JAMES MacGREGOR BURNS is the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox and Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom. He is the author of more than two dozen other books, including The Deadlock of Democracy and Leadership, which remains the seminal work in the field of leadership studies. He is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
"With this profound and magnificent book, drawing on his deep
reservoir of thought and expertise in the humanities, James
MacGregor Burns takes us into the fire's center. As a 21st-century
philosopher, he brings to vivid life the incandescent personalities
and ideas that embody the best in Western civilization and shows us
how understanding them is essential for anyone who would seek to
decipher the complex problems and potentialities of the world we
will live in tomorrow." --Michael Beschloss, New York Times
bestselling author of Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How
they Changed America, 1789-1989"James MacGregor Burns is a national
treasure, and Fire and Light is the elegiac capstone to a career
devoted to understanding the seminal ideas that made America - for
better and for worse - what it is." --Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer
Prize and National Book Award winning author Revolutionary
Summer"James MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished
historians, has written a superb book. Fire and Light is a fluent
and wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages." --James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of The Eve of Destruction"Our most
eminent scholar of political and intellectual leadership offers a
glowing narrative of the emancipation of reason in Fire and Light.
Sweeping across two centuries, James MacGregor Burns's graceful
prose etches memorable portraits of the leading thinkers, doers,
and movements that transformed England, France, and America in the
cause of reason, liberty, and equality. Through his riveting tale,
we are reminded that the great but unfinished project of
Enlightenment remains a challenge for our own times." --Bruce
Miroff, author of Icons of Democracy: American Leaders As Heroes,
Aristocrats, Dissenters, and Democrats"James MacGregor Burns, who
has achieved well-deserved acclaim for his histories of American
politics and government, has now expanded his vision to the world
of ideas in both Europe and America during the age of the
Enlightenment. His newest book, Fire and Light, is a brilliant
analysis of the way in which the power of ideas transformed the
governments and cultures of America, Great Britain, and France
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its
description of that process is not merely instructive and
insightful, but genuinely inspirational." --Richard Beeman, author
of Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American
Constitution"Burns's 18th and 19th century Enlightenment--the
flourishing of ideas that's the subject of this book--is
essentially the New Deal writ large, the story of intentional
improvement brought about by thoughts and action... [A] captivating
tale of the (mostly) men who altered the Western world's way of
thinking. Briskly and beautifully told, it's basically a triumphal
story... The writing never lapses into academese, and it has the
same propulsiveness of another, though vaster, survey of ideas:
Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy.... [S]uperb."
--Publishers Weekly"The unleashing of the human mind from orthodoxy
ushered in one of the most exciting periods in history, and
consummate historian Burns proves a lively guide to the great
currents of Enlightenment thought... Happiness, property, reform,
universal suffrage: The author traces these key concepts to our own
era, still worthy of fighting for, as evidenced by the recent
events of the Arab Spring. An impassioned, big-picture primer ideal
for college students." --Kirkus
With this profound and magnificent book, drawing on his deep
reservoir of thought and expertise in the humanities, James
MacGregor Burns takes us into the fire's center. As a 21st-century
philosopher, he brings to vivid life the incandescent personalities
and ideas that embody the best in Western civilization and shows us
how understanding them is essential for anyone who would seek to
decipher the complex problems and potentialities of the world we
will live in tomorrow. Michael Beschloss, New York Times
bestselling author of Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How
they Changed America, 1789-1989 James MacGregor Burns is a national
treasure, and Fire and Light is the elegiac capstone to a career
devoted to understanding the seminal ideas that made America - for
better and for worse - what it is. Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize
and National Book Award winning author Revolutionary Summer James
MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished historians,
has written a superb book. Fire and Light is a fluent and
wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages. James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of The Eve of Destruction Our most
eminent scholar of political and intellectual leadership offers a
glowing narrative of the emancipation of reason in Fire and Light.
Sweeping across two centuries, James MacGregor Burns's graceful
prose etches memorable portraits of the leading thinkers, doers,
and movements that transformed England, France, and America in the
cause of reason, liberty, and equality. Through his riveting tale,
we are reminded that the great but unfinished project of
Enlightenment remains a challenge for our own times. Bruce Miroff,
author of Icons of Democracy: American Leaders As Heroes,
Aristocrats, Dissenters, and Democrats James MacGregor Burns, who
has achieved well-deserved acclaim for his histories of American
politics and government, has now expanded his vision to the world
of ideas in both Europe and America during the age of the
Enlightenment. His newest book, Fire and Light, is a brilliant
analysis of the way in which the power of ideas transformed the
governments and cultures of America, Great Britain, and France
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its
description of that process is not merely instructive and
insightful, but genuinely inspirational. Richard Beeman, author of
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution Burns s
18th and 19th century Enlightenment the flourishing of ideas that s
the subject of this book is essentially the New Deal writ large,
the story of intentional improvement brought about by thoughts and
action [A] captivating tale of the (mostly) men who altered the
Western world s way of thinking. Briskly and beautifully told, it s
basically a triumphal story The writing never lapses into
academese, and it has the same propulsiveness of another, though
vaster, survey of ideas: Bertrand Russell s A History of Western
Philosophy . [S]uperb. Publishers Weekly The unleashing of the
human mind from orthodoxy ushered in one of the most exciting
periods in history, and consummate historian Burns proves a lively
guide to the great currents of Enlightenment thought Happiness,
property, reform, universal suffrage: The author traces these key
concepts to our own era, still worthy of fighting for, as evidenced
by the recent events of the Arab Spring. An impassioned,
big-picture primer ideal for college students. Kirkus"
With this profound and magnificent book, drawing on his deep
reservoir of thought and expertise in the humanities, James
MacGregor Burns takes us into the fire's center. As a 21st-century
philosopher, he brings to vivid life the incandescent personalities
and ideas that embody the best in Western civilization and shows us
how understanding them is essential for anyone who would seek to
decipher the complex problems and potentialities of the world we
will live in tomorrow. "Michael Beschloss, New York Times
bestselling author of Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How
they Changed America, 1789-1989" James MacGregor Burns is a
national treasure, and "Fire and Light" is the elegiac capstone to
a career devoted to understanding the seminal ideas that made
America - for better and for worse - what it is. "Joseph J. Ellis,
Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning author Revolutionary
Summer" James MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished
historians, has written a superb book. "Fire and Light" is a fluent
and wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages. "James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of The Eve of Destruction" Our most
eminent scholar of political and intellectual leadership offers a
glowing narrative of the emancipation of reason in "Fire and
Light." Sweeping across two centuries, James MacGregor Burns's
graceful prose etches memorable portraits of the leading thinkers,
doers, and movements that transformed England, France, and America
in the cause of reason, liberty, and equality. Through his riveting
tale, we are reminded that the great but unfinished project of
Enlightenment remains a challenge for our own times. "Bruce Miroff,
author of Icons of Democracy: American Leaders As Heroes,
Aristocrats, Dissenters, and Democrats" James MacGregor Burns, who
has achieved well-deserved acclaim for his histories of American
politics and government, has now expanded his vision to the world
of ideas in both Europe and America during the age of the
Enlightenment. His newest book, "Fire and Light, "is a brilliant
analysis of the way in which the power of ideas transformed the
governments and cultures of America, Great Britain, and France
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its
description of that process is not merely instructive and
insightful, but genuinely inspirational. "Richard Beeman, author of
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution" Burns s
18th and 19th century Enlightenment the flourishing of ideas that s
the subject of this book is essentially the New Deal writ large,
the story of intentional improvement brought about by thoughts and
action [A] captivating tale of the (mostly) men who altered the
Western world s way of thinking. Briskly and beautifully told, it s
basically a triumphal story The writing never lapses into
academese, and it has the same propulsiveness of another, though
vaster, survey of ideas: Bertrand Russell s A History of Western
Philosophy . [S]uperb. "Publishers Weekly" The unleashing of the
human mind from orthodoxy ushered in one of the most exciting
periods in history, and consummate historian Burns proves a lively
guide to the great currents of Enlightenment thought Happiness,
property, reform, universal suffrage: The author traces these key
concepts to our own era, still worthy of fighting for, as evidenced
by the recent events of the Arab Spring. An impassioned,
big-picture primer ideal for college students. "Kirkus""
Praise for "Fire and Light" "With this profound and magnificent
book, drawing on his deep reservoir of thought and expertise in the
humanities, James MacGregor Burns takes us into the fire's center.
As a 21st-century philosopher, he brings to vivid life the
incandescent personalities and ideas that embody the best in
Western civilization and shows us how understanding them is
essential for anyone who would seek to decipher the complex
problems and potentialities of the world we will live in tomorrow."
-- Michael Beschloss, "New York Times" bestselling author of
"Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How they Changed America,
1789-1989
""James MacGregor Burns is a national treasure, and "Fire and
Light" is the elegiac capstone to a career devoted to understanding
the seminal ideas that made America - for better and for worse -
what it is." --Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize and National Book
Award winning author "Revolutionary Summer"
"James MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished
historians, has written a superb book. "Fire and Light" is a fluent
and wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages." --James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of "The Eve of Destruction
""Our most eminent scholar of political and intellectual leadership
offers a glowing narrative of the emancipation of reason in "Fire
and Light." Sweeping across two centuries, James MacGregor Burns's
graceful prose etches memorable portraits of the leading thinkers,
doers, and movements that transformed England, France, and America
in the cause of reason, liberty, and equality. Through his riveting
tale, we are reminded that the great but unfinished project of
Enlightenment remains a challenge for our own times." --Bruce
Miroff, author of "Icons of Democracy: American Leaders As Heroes,
Aristocrats, Dissenters, and Democrats" "James MacGregor Burns, who
has achieved well-deserved acclaim for his histories of American
politics and government, has now expanded his vision to the world
of ideas in both Europe and America during the age of the
Enlightenment. His newest book, "Fire and Light, "is a brilliant
analysis of the way in which the power of ideas transformed the
governments and cultures of America, Great Britain, and France
during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its
description of that process is not merely instructive and
insightful, but genuinely inspirational." --Richard Beeman, author
of "Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution"
"Burns's 18th and 19th century Enlightenment--the flourishing of
ideas that's the subject of this book--is essentially the New Deal
writ large, the story of intentional improvement brought about by
thoughts and action... [A] captivating tale of the (mostly) men who
altered the Western world's way of thinking. Briskly and
beautifully told, it's basically a triumphal story... The writing
never lapses into academese, and it has the same propulsiveness of
another, though vaster, survey of ideas: Bertrand Russell's "A
History of Western Philosophy...." [S]uperb." -"Publishers
Weekly""" "The unleashing of the human mind from orthodoxy ushered
in one of the most exciting periods in history, and consummate
historian Burns proves a lively guide to the great currents of
Enlightenment thought... Happiness, property, reform, universal
suffrage: The author traces these key concepts to our own era,
still worthy of fighting for, as evidenced by the recent events of
the Arab Spring. An impassioned, big-picture primer ideal for
college students." --"Kirkus""Praise for "Packing the Court"
"This important volume is basic and essential and should be
vigorously read and debated by all of us." --Michael Beschloss,
"New York Times" bestselling author of "Presidential Courage"
"Mr. Burns uses his intimate knowledge of America's past to situate
judicial rulings within a political and social context, even as he
dissects the practical consequences of particular decisions."
--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Just what you would expect of Burns: a readable and accessible
history, full of memorable details . . . I was engaged, entertained
and provoked." --Jeffrey Rosen, "The Washington Post""
Praise for "Fire and Light" "James MacGregor Burns is a national
treasure, and "Fire and Light" is the elegiac capstone to a career
devoted to understanding the seminal ideas that made America - for
better and for worse - what it is." --Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer
Prize and National Book Award winning author "Revolutionary
Summer"
"James MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished
historians, has written a superb book. "Fire and Light" is a fluent
and wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages." --James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of "The Eve of Destruction
""Our most eminent scholar of political and intellectual leadership
offers a glowing narrative of the emancipation of reason in "Fire
and Light." Sweeping across two centuries, James MacGregor Burns's
graceful prose etches memorable portraits of the leading thinkers,
doers, and movements that transformed England, France, and America
in the cause of reason, liberty, and equality. Through his riveting
tale, we are reminded that the great but unfinished project of
Enlightenment remains a challenge for our own times." --Bruce
Miroff, author of "Icons of Democracy: American Leaders As Heroes,
Aristocrats, Dissenters, and Democrats" "James MacGregor Burns, who
has achieved well-deserved acclaim for his histories of American
politics and government, has now expanded his vision to the world
of ideas in both Europe and America during the age of the
Enlightenment. His newest book, "Fire and Light, "is a brilliant
analysis of the way in which the power of ideas transformed the
governments and culturesn
Praise for "Fire and Light" "James MacGregor Burns is a national
treasure, and "Fire and Light" is the elegiac capstone to a career
devoted to understanding the seminal ideas that made America - for
better and for worse - what it is." --Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer
Prize and National Book Award winning author "Revolutionary
Summer"
"James MacGregor Burns, one of America's most distinguished
historians, has written a superb book. "Fire and Light" is a fluent
and wide-ranging history of Enlightenment thinkers and of the many
political actors--in Britain, France, and Britain--whom they
influenced between the 17th century and the mid-1800s. Descartes,
Spinoza, Hegel, Montesquieu, Locke, Hume, Franklin, Jefferson,
Paine, Tocqueville, James Watt, James and John Stuart Mill, and
Marx are among the host of writers, entrepreneurs, and national
leaders who come to life on Burns's pages." --James T. Patterson,
Bancroft Prize-winning author of "The Eve of Destruction"Praise for
"Packing the Court"
"This important volume is basic and essential and should be
vigorously read and debated by all of us." --Michael Beschloss,
"New York Times" bestselling author of "Presidential Courage"
"Mr. Burns uses his intimate knowledge of America's past to situate
judicial rulings within a political and social context, even as he
dissects the practical consequences of particular decisions."
--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Just what you would expect of Burns: a readable and accessible
history, full of memorable details . . . I was engaged, entertained
and provoked." --Jeffrey Rosen, "The Washington Post"
Praise for "Packing the Court"
"This important volume is basic and essential and should be
vigorously read and debated by all of us." --Michael Beschloss,
"New York Times" bestselling author of "Presidential Courage"
"Mr. Burns uses his intimate knowledge of America's past to situate
judicial rulings within a political and social context, even as he
dissects the practical consequences of particular decisions."
--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times"
"Just what you would expect of Burns: a readable and accessible
history, full of memorable details . . . I was engaged, entertained
and provoked." --Jeffrey Rosen, "The Washington Post"
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