Utopias and Utopians: An Historical Dictionary Rating :
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4 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Inaccurate
By Jan Tilden
This book contains a shallow and inaccurate precis of a chapter I published in another book in 1995. The entry under my name, which comes up in a Google search, was never seen and certainly not authorised by me, nor was I told of its publication (for obvious reasons). While I have not read the whole book (and won't be reading it), I can only assume that other entries were obtained in a similar fashion and are of a similar quality with regard to accuracy and depth of understanding.
Product Description
The concept of utopia is generally attributed to Thomas More, whose fictional work, Utopia (1516), presents a place that is at once ideal and imaginary. The term means both a good place and no place, and More's work has inspired numerous political philosophers, religious leaders, and literary figures for nearly five centuries. Utopian ventures are worth close attention to help understand why some fail and others succeed, and they offer hope for an improved life on earth. This reference book is a comprehensive guide to utopian communities and their founders. While other volumes look at literary utopias or examine utopias in only one country, this work examines utopias from antiquity to the present and surveys utopian efforts around the world. Multidisciplinary in nature, the book draws on anthropology, religion, philosophy, political science, history, sociology, and literature.
Included are more than 600 alphabetically arranged entries. Roughly half are short descriptions of utopian ventures and the rest are brief biographical sketches of individuals who were involved. Each entry is followed by a list of sources, and the volume concludes with a selected, general bibliography. The entries draw on a wide range of activities and institutions: from abodes of love to conservation groups; from hippie communes and fantastic entertainments to caravans and residential settlements; from garden cities to children's schools; from business schemes to spiritual encampments; from religious communities to unrealizable schemes. Entries were chosen for their illustrative value and origin and include several dystopias, literary and real, which provide an additional context for the utopian communities.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2299527 in Books
- Published on: 1999-06-30
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.86" h x5.91" w x1.22" l,1.97 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 496 pages
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