| Reviews |
| - 'This is a book in which playfulness and wit interlock with, rather than adorn or relieve, probing analysis and humane seriousness.' - Christopher Hilliard, The Historical Journal
- 'Absent Minds
is an intriguing, sometimes illuminating, book written with elegance and elan
.
' - David Stack, The English Historical Review
- '..elegant and challenging' - Dominic Sandbrook, Telegraph
- '..[a]..witty and detailed study' - Bernard Richards, Oxford Magazine
- 'a long book of dazzling short chapters. Richly layered, provocative and very funny.' - Roy Foster, Times Literary Supplement.
- '...a splendidly challenging book.' - Bernard Bergonzi, The Tablet
- '..[includes] many striking items of information' - David Simpson, London Review of Books
- 'clever and entertaining revisionist history....Absent Minds
brilliantly exemplifies the sort of human, intelligent and accessible critique he so eloquently advocates'
' - Michael Saler, TLS
- '..[a]. .splendid new book...' - Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian
- '...[a] magisterial study...Collini is a skilled portraitist and provides us with some judicious, vividly detailed cameos of such figures as Collingwood, T S Eliot, Orwell, A J P Taylor and Freddie Ayer...this magnificently perceptive survey of the British intellectual caste, with a handful of French and American thinkers thrown in for good measure, will prove hard to outstrip as the definitive
account of its subject...It is a stylish, finely analytical study... his literary style combines journalism with erudition, in the best manner of the tradition he investigates... it is a superb distillation of several decades of research and reflection....this magnificently perceptive survey of the British intellectual caste, with a handful of French and American thinkers thrown in for good
measure, will prove hard to outstrip as the definitive account of its subject.' - Terry Eagleton, New Statesman
- 'Absent Minds
is a tour de force by a scholar and critic at the height of his powers
' - James Wilsdon, Financial Times
- '...fascinating...Absent Minds
is a provocative and impressive read.
' - Dominic Sandbrook, The Telegraph
- 'Stefan Collini promises a panoramic view of British intellectuals in the 20th century...with contemporary disquisitions on 'media studies' and celebrity. Collini is expert at the urbane insertion of a dagger: Should be provocative fun.' - Steven Poole, The Guardian
- ''Absent Minds is first rate...immensely authoritative'' - Winston Fletcher, THES
- 'a rich, subtle and complex book, which is a constant stimulus to thought...full of witty phrases' - Robert Skidelsky, Prospect
- 'Stefan Collini was arguably the person best placed to write a book as ambitious as this...The book is based on impressive research, and displays, once more, the sharp critical capacities Collini is known for. It cannot be sufficiently stressed that this book should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in the question of intellectuals and intellectual activity in any country, both
historically and in the contemporary context.' - Historian
- 'the book is excellent, thoroughly researched, full of unexpectd discussions of half-forgotten names, movements, and periodicals, provoking further study.' - Jeremy Tambling, MLR
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| Description | | - The first full-length account of 'the question of intellectuals' in twentieth-century Britain
- Provides an original and persuasive analysis of the concept of the intellectual, bringing much-needed clarity to a notoriously clichéd and controversial topic
- Illuminates contemporary debates on 'specialization' and 'celebrity culture'
- Comparative analyses of the USA, France, and other European countries challenge long-held assumptions about British exceptionalism
|
A richly textured work of history and a powerful contribution to contemporary cultural debate, Absent Minds
provides the first full-length account of 'the question of intellectuals' in twentieth-century Britain - have such figures ever existed, have they always been more prominent or influential elsewhere, and are they on the point of becoming extinct today?
Recovering neglected or
misunderstood traditions of reflection and debate from the late nineteenth century through to the present, Stefan Collini challenges the familiar cliche that there are no 'real' intellectuals in Britain. The book offers a persuasive analysis of the concept of 'the intellectual' and an extensive comparative account of how this question has been seen in the USA, France, and elsewhere in Europe.
There are detailed discussions of influential or revealing figures such as Julien Benda, T. S. Eliot, George Orwell, and Edward Said, as well as trenchant critiques of current assumptions about the impact of specialization and celebrity. Throughout, attention is paid to the multiple senses of the term 'intellectuals' and to the great diversity of relevant genres and media through which they have
communicated their ideas, from pamphlets and periodical essays to public lectures and radio talks.
Elegantly written and rigorously argued, Absent Minds
is a major, long-awaited work by a leading intellectual historian and cultural commentator, ranging across the conventional divides between academic disciplines and combining insightful portraits of individuals with sharp-edged cultural
analysis.
|
Readership: The general reader interested in British intellectual and cultural history, scholars and students of intellectual and cultural history and of twentieth-century Britain.
| Contents |
Introduction: The Question of Intellectuals
Part One: The Terms of the Question
1.
The History of a Word
2.
A Matter of Definition
Part Two: Fonder Hearts
3.
Anglo-Saxon Attitudes
4.
Of Light and Leading
5.
Highbrows and Other Aliens
6.
The Long 1950s I: Happy Families
7.
The Long 1950s II: Brave Causes
8.
From New Left to Old Chestnut
Part Three: Comparative Perspectives
9.
In their Natonal Habitat
10.
Greener Grass: Letters from America
11.
The Peculiarities of the French
12.
The Translation of the Clerks
Part Four: Some Versions of Denial
13.
Clerisy or Undesirables: T. S. Eliot
14.
Professional Cackling: R. G. Collingwood
15.
Other People: George Orwell
16.
Nothing to Say: A. J. P. Taylor
17.
No True Answers: A. J. Ayer
Part Five: Repeat Performances
18.
Outsider Studies: The Glamour of Dissent
19.
Media Studies: A Discourse of General Ideas
20.
Long Views I: Specialization and its Discontents
21.
Long Views II: From Authority to Celebrity?
Epilogue: No Elsewhere
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| Authors, editors,
and contributors |
Stefan Collini, Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature, Cambridge University
|
The specification in this catalogue, including without
limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations,
and month of publication, was as accurate as
possible at the time the catalogue was compiled.
Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we
are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory.
Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
|
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