Empire and Revolution – The Political Life of Edmund: The Political Life of Edmund Burke - Hardcover

Bourke, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691145113 ISBN 13: 9780691145112

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Edmund Burke (1730-97) lived during one of the most extraordinary periods of world history. He grappled with the significance of the British Empire in India, fought for reconciliation with the American colonies, and was a vocal critic of national policy during three European wars. He also advocated reform in Britain, pressed for constitutional change in Ireland, and became a central protagonist in the great debate on the French Revolution. Drawing on the complete range of printed and manuscript sources, Empire and Revolution offers a vivid reconstruction of the major concerns of this outstanding statesman, orator, and philosopher. In restoring Burke to his original political and intellectual context, this book strips away the accumulated distortions that have marked the reception of his ideas. In the process, it overturns the conventional picture of a partisan of tradition against progress. In place of the image of a backward-looking opponent of popular rights, it presents a multifaceted portrait of one of the most captivating figures in eighteenth-century life and thought. While Burke was a passionately energetic statesman, he was also a deeply original thinker. Empire and Revolution depicts him as a philosopher-in-action who evaluated the political realities of the day through the lens of Enlightenment thought, variously drawing on the ideas of such figures as Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Hume. A boldly ambitious work of scholarship, this book challenges us to rethink the legacy of Burke and the turbulent era in which he played so pivotal a role.

About this title

Product Description:

Edmund Burke (1730-97) lived during one of the most extraordinary periods of world history. He grappled with the significance of the British Empire in India, fought for reconciliation with the American colonies, and was a vocal critic of national policy during three European wars. He also advocated reform in Britain and became a central protagonist in the great debate on the French Revolution. Drawing on the complete range of printed and manuscript sources, Empire and Revolution offers a vivid reconstruction of the major concerns of this outstanding statesman, orator, and philosopher. In restoring Burke to his original political and intellectual context, this book overturns the conventional picture of a partisan of tradition against progress and presents a multifaceted portrait of one of the most captivating figures in eighteenth-century life and thought. A boldly ambitious work of scholarship, this book challenges us to rethink the legacy of Burke and the turbulent era in which he played so pivotal a role.

Review:

"An intensely rewarding read, which combines careful historical scholarship and deep archival research with philosophical nuance and insight. . . . Sets a new standard in the field."--Jesse Norman MP, The Times

"Bourke's forensic anatomising of both the underlying consistency of Burke's commitments and also of the repeated misreadings to which his career has been subjected is a pleasure to read. Time and again Bourke skewers a misinterpretation with an acute discrimination. . . . The range and depth of Bourke's research here, and his command of both the primary and secondary archives, is truly impressive. All future historians of ideas who intend to work on Burke will need to engage with the arguments of this book."--David Womersley, Standpoint

Selected for the Claremont Review of Books CRB Christmas Reading List 2015

One of The Guardian's Best Books of 2015

One of The Indian Express Stand-Out Books of the Year 2015

One of the Irish Times 2015 Readers' Books of the Year

Selected for National Review Online's "Some Great 2015 Books"

One of The Spectator 2015 Books of the Year

"Richard Bourke's Empire and Revolution is the finest of intellectual portraits . . . the definitive account of a life in ideas and politics. "--Gavin Jacobson, Financial Times

"The learning involved is deeply impressive, but the momentum of the overall argument is such that it carries its weight with elegance. . . . This book is a truly outstanding achievement. . . . It is the finest of all books on Edmund Burke."--Seamus Deane, Literary Review

"Richard Bourke's Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke . . . is a monument of exact scholarship and careful reflection, by a long way the best book that we have on this profound and much misunderstood politician and philosopher."--Jonathan Sumption, Spectator

"Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke, by Richard Bourke (Princeton University Press), is a majestic study of a fascinating and gloriously ambiguous political thinker."--John Banville, Observer

"Of Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke, by Richard Bourke . . . It is hard to avoid the word 'magisterial'. Burke is a fascinating thinker, at once a conservative and a radical, and this beautifully written, scholarly study will be the last word on him for a long time to come."--John Banville, The Irish Times, Books of the Year

"Richard Bourke's magisterial Empire and Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke . . . authoritatively restores a key figure to his proper context."--Roy Foster, The Irish Times, Books of the Year

"Richard Bourke's Empire & Revolution: The Political Life of Edmund Burke [is] . . . The historian's Burke in a truly massive tome."--Harvey Mansfield, Claremont Review of Books

"In this wonderfully rich book, Richard Bourke tells the story of Burke's political endeavors and ideas in the context of the tumultuous time in which he lived. . . . Bourke does it wonderfully. . . . He paints a bold picture of a truly outstanding figure who nonetheless has to be grasped in light of the age in which he lived. You'll understand both better thanks to this book."--Yuval Levin, National Review Online

"Masterful. . . . Richard Bourke's Empire and Revolution is a magnificent intellectual biography."--Pratap Bhanu Mehta, The Indian Express

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0691145113
• ISBN 13: 9780691145112
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 1032