A World of Ideas: A Dictionary of Important Theories, Concepts, Beliefs, and Thinkers

by Chris Rohmann

Book Overview

THE THINKERS, THE THOUGHTS, AND THE THEORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. With A World of Ideas, you can get to the bottom of the big bang theory; find out where Freud's ideas... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345390598
• ISBN13: 9780345390592
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 476 Pages
• Weight: 1.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic

Not only is it a great reference book, I find myself scanning the pages just to look for new ideas to become familiar with. Excellent book for those with an interest in the life of the mind.

I Needed This One Years Ago

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading or studying - period. I had returned to college after a twelve year absence to study history (I'd studied business before, yuck) and found many concepts, names, and ideas either new to me or fairly well forgotten. "A World of Ideas" became an absolute life-saver and, furthermore, a book that I began to peruse out of enjoyment and interest. Contrary to another review, there is a list of sources for further reading. However, I doubt the mere 28 books listed will satisfy most needs, a fuller more specific listing would have been the icing on the cake. I usually reference "A World of Ideas" to clarify ideas from specific readings. In this case, the book in hand will usually have additional sources available in its notes and bibliography. Also, if you are taking a class, you can ask your professor. They love talking with interested students and can steer you towards appropriate books, or away from less useful ones.I am unable to convey how helpful this book has been for me now, nor how strongly I wish that I had had it when I was in high school, or even before. If you crinkled your brow when Gore said, "... the zeitgeist", or if Hegelian dialectic sounds like a Greek waterway, then get this book.

A great reference book

I bought this for my husband who is a philosophy major and he loves it. It's a really comprehensive overwiew of concepts in political science, religion, philosophy, and socliology. Well worth having on the bookshelf.

Everything I Always Wanted to Know, But Was Afraid to Ask

"A World of Ideas" is an excellent reference book for anyone who wants to know more about philosophies, ideas, beliefs, and perspectives from numerous cultures through centuries of thought. Many of the ideas the author chose are subjects that I've wanted to understand for years. Several times I've found myself reading with my fingers stuck in different parts of the book because there are so many aspects to the entries that I want to find out more about. The entries are clear and very layperson-intelligible.This "dictionary of ideas" is handily presented in alphabetical order, and the cross-referencing is extremely well done. And I love the fact that all of the different and sometimes opposing viewpoints are presented with equal weight -- nothing is put forward as being better or worse or right or wrong. It is truly clear information with no editorializing, no slant to prejudice a reader. It lets us make our own choices, and that is a great gift when it comes to presenting information. The best part about it for me is that when I went to school, I always knew that they didn't offer information about the most interesting stuff, and I never knew where to find it. I've finally found it: "A World of Ideas" satisfies my intense curiosity about the infinitely diverse viewpoints through the centuries and around the world.

Dabble your toes in the fascinating.

'In order to know me, you must swallow the world, my world'...my adaptation of a saying by Immanuel Kant. The world this book encompasses is particularly easy to swallow, and particularly well done. The definitions are in-depth enough to offer a sense of real substance, but not so cumbersone as to alienate the casual reader.