Hobbes: Leviathan: Revised student edition (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) - Softcover

Tuck, Richard

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521567971 ISBN 13: 9780521567978

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1996

Synopsis

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan is arguably the greatest piece of political philosophy written in the English language. Written in a time of great political turmoil (Hobbes' life spanned the reign of Charles I, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, and the Restoration), Leviathan is an argument for obedience to authority grounded in an analysis of human nature. Since its first publication in 1991 Richard Tuck's edition of Leviathan has been recognised as the single most accurate and authoritative text, and for this revised edition Professor Tuck has provided a much amplified and expanded introduction, which will provide students unfamiliar with Hobbes with a cogent and accessible introduction to this most challenging of texts. Other vital aids to study include an extensive guide to further reading, a note on textual matters, a chronology of important events and brief biographies of important persons mentioned in Hobbes' text.

About this title

Review

The importance of Hobbes' Leviathan is largely based on the ruthlessness of its logic and the soundness of its arguments. Contemporary Review Everything about these three volumes is testimony to Malcolm's extraordinary scholarly range and precision. Just as impressive is the lucidity of Malcolm's own prose ... Specialists will find fresh insights on almost every page ... Malcolm's measured and gently sceptical style is a perfect complement to Hobbe's own extravagant scepticism David Runciman, Times Literary Supplement The lavish, meticulous annotation ... is certainly this editions most significant contribution to the republic of letters. But the general reader will probably find Malcolms introduction, a tour de force that takes up the entire first volume, to be of greatest value. Malcolm ... fluently and authoritatively sets Leviathan and its author in their time and provides a keen and detailed study of Leviathans genesis. Malcolms volume itself is an enduring work of history. Ben Schwartz, The Atlantic Malcolm's edition of Leviathan aims to present the masterpiece as faithfully as possible. The result - a product of many years of labour - is an astonishing achievement of the highest scholarship. We have never before had so accurate and so richly annotated a version of the text, and it is unlikely that there will ever be another that can match this edition. John Gray, New Statesman Dr Malcolm seems to have read, and judiciously assessed, everything that may be relevant to everything that may be relevant (this includes graveyard inscriptions, so it can be fairly said that he leaves no stone unturned). The Economist The most helpful piece of scholarship was Noel Malcolm's translating the Latin version and appendix of Hobbes's Leviathan in his monumental three-volume edition Christopher Howse, The Spectator (Books of the Year)

From the Publisher

The Broadview Editions series is an effort to represent the ever-changing canon of literature in English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable, lesser-known literature. Newly type-set and produced on high-quality paper in trade paperback format, the Broadview Editions series is a delight to handle as well as to read.

Each volume includes a full introduction, chronology, bibliography, and explanatory notes along with a variety of documents from the period, giving readers a rich sense of the world from which the work emerged.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0521567971
• ISBN 13: 9780521567978
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 624