The Enlightenment

by Dorinda Outram

Book Overview

What is the Enlightenment? A period rich with debates on the nature of man, truth and the place of God, with the international circulation of ideas, people and gold. But did the Enlightenment mean the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521546818
• ISBN13: 9780521546812
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.9" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A good supplementary text to Enlightenment studies

I took a college course on the Enlightenment. The Outram book gave a slightly different perspective from the course texts. It was worth it.

An Intelligent and Concise Overview

Most history books tend to either be too long and in-depth on a topic of interest or too brief. This book is neither, which is especially impressive given that it clocks in under 200 pages and covers, essentially, a century. Outram succeeds in her basic layout of the book and in her lack of "kiddie gloves" in respect to her audience. She opens the book with a discussion of differing interpretations of the Enlightenment, in particular an essay contest in a Berlin newspaper in 1785. Outram begins with a discussion of Kant's response to the question, "What is Enlightenment?" Throughout the book, the scholar responds to shortcomings of other historical analyses of the period and explores, in short, 15-page sections, specific questions regarding the Enlightenment. Outram wastes no time diving into the complex morass of the eighteenth century. Writing in clear, lucid prose with a quick style, Outram brings to light new ideas on the Enightenment while responding to more traditional interpretations in due course. The history professor who is directing my seminar on Religious Toleration in Renaissance and Reformation Europe recommended this book. When I become a high school teacher, I'm pretty sure this is a text I will use.