Desolation and Enlightenment

Reviews / Votes

In this masterful excursion into the history of ideas, Katznelson explores how a 'reconstructionist' generation of political scholars has since attempted to make sense of these dark times and rethink the bases of political theory and liberal community... Although the book was written largely before the attacks of September 11, 2001, it speaks powerfully to today's struggles to reconcile liberal values with a new threat of violence. -- G. John Ikenberry * Foreign Affairs * Katznelson's book remarkably (re)describes post-World War II American political studies... This is an important book. -- Maurice Meilleur * Antioch Review * [An] eloquent volume. . . . Timely and important. * Perspectives on Politics * Desolation and Enlightenment is a passionate call to arms.... [Katznelson's] book provides inspiration and considerable guidance for anyone who believes in the social responsibilities of intellectuals. * Ethics & International Affairs * Rich and thoughtful. . . . Contemporary political scientists have produced no better or more profound account of twentieth-century Western political theory. * International Studies Review * Katznelson's book is an excellent study of one episode in the history of social sciences, an episode that is by no means interesting only to historians. Historical institutionalism is still a very productive approach and Desolation and Enlightenment helps to identify the strengths and limitations of this approach that may be hidden to its contemporary advocates and critics... Katznelson's work shows how real the dilemmas of the political studies enlightenment group are to all of us. * European Journal of Social Theory * Katznelson's book is well written, a clear yet crystalline, multifaceted examination of the plight of Enlightenment thought. * Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory *