Utopian Thought in the Western World

This massive volume is one of the best on the subject of utopian themes and literature. The discredit foisted on the genre in the wake of Communism makes us forget the rich literature of the early modern, beginning with More, and proceeding through such figures as Harrington and many others. The rich detail of this history is beautifully summoned from its cultural archive, and the best critique of this art-form is not the obsessive "I'm alright Jack" of conservatives but the actual exploration of the history.