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A World of Ideas : The Dictionary of Important Ideas and Thinkers
by Chris Rohmann
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Ballantine Books (2000-10-31)
ISBN: 0345437063
EAN: 9780345437068
Dewy Decimal #: 103
Paperback: 496 pages
Release Date: 2000-10-31
SKU: 08030197
Condition: Very Good As issued
Comments: Trade Paperback. Very Good condition with no markings. No highlights, underlines or notes in text. No creases to spine.Cover has small creases and plasticized coating on cover has wrinkles. Text is tanned. Tight binding and clean text. Nice copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
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 were coming from, and where Einstein's might take us; demystify surrealism and structuralism, communism and capitalism. Prepared with the assistance of an academic board of leading scholars, this invaluable reference includes
- Hundreds of entries, alphabetically arranged, with key words and concepts highlighted and cross-referenced--more than two thousand in all
- A special emphasis on multicultural influences and contemporary thought
- A comprehensive index giving easy access to all essential terms and names
A World of Ideas is an indispensable resource for the curious reader.
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Amazon.com Review
Sure, you can throw around words like deconstruction and solipsism in conversation, and pick up what you need to know about them from context, but wouldn't it be great if there were a dictionary of concepts important to thinkers? That's what writer Chris Rohmann thought, so he researched and put together A World of Ideas, with 444 entries covering 333 ideas and 111 individuals who influenced the history of thought. You'll find everything from the ancients to the present day, with a deliberate widening of the scope to include women and non-Western thinkers, though, as Rohmann says, "the ideas that are our cultural currency are still predominantly those of 'western civilization'." Covering science, politics, and philosophy, A World of Ideas has "relativism" next to "relativity," with concise definitions and explorations of their histories and effects on modern thought. It's great to find a volume that acknowledges and even embraces the cross-currents between science and the humanities, and while there's no room for exhaustive detail--only 111 thinkers from all of history!--the superior quality of the entries and the extensive cross-indexing still make this both useful and unique. Whether you're pursuing graduate studies or just want to get the skinny on the "mind/body problem," you'll find your answer somewhere in A World of Ideas. --Rob Lightner
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Customer Reviews
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Handy reference in plain english
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-05-09
This book is a great philosophical reference. Entries are conversational, informative and easy to read.
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Good but has some errors on religion
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-11-09
Under the heading for Roman Catholicism it states that Catholics do not approach God directly, but only through the sacraments. This is proposterous! This has never been official church teacthing.
I agree with the reviewer that wanted some source notes or a better Bibliograpy or footnotes. Unfortunately it seems some of these summaries are from very old or discredited sources such as the above. It is almost a great book, much better than Will Durant's "Story of Philosophy" which did not even try to be objective or compreshensive.
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A World Of Ideas
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-09-23
This book has saved my life at many cocktail parties.It's got the answers!
Not a bad gift for the new college student either.
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Fantastic
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-05-21
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.
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Informative if dry
Rating (5)
Date: 2004-11-22
1 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
There are a lot of entries about a lot of ideas and thinkers. The information is accurate and presented in a dry informative matter. This can be a useful reference work, but is of limited value to anyone who wishes to understand any of the entries in a deep way. It also is relentlessly even- toned in presentation, an advantage in one sense but in another one which defers continued reading.
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