Today's ISMS: Socialism, Capitalism, Fascism, Communism, and Libertarianism (11th Edition)
Author: Alan Ebenstein, William Ebenstein, Edwin Fogelman
List Price: $34.80
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ISBN: 0130257141
Publisher: Prentice Hall (02 November, 1999)
Sales Rank: 208,942
Average Customer Rating: 3.83 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
great reference book
I use this book to help prepare lecture notes for the AP Govt classes I teach. It is quite readable and simply organized. Any instructor of govt or any serious student of govt should have this book.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Very confusing -- didnt even cover the basics!
*this review concerns the edition that did not discuss libertarianism.. that would be a welcome addition*
I give this two stars because there WERE parts of the book that were factual, interesting, and important. However, I found the entire book as a whole to be sloppy, confusing, and poorly written. For example, throughout the entire book, I was waiting to see a simple definition of socialism, or for a distinct difference between socialism and communism. However, not only does the author never do this, but he confuses the reader more and more by talking for dozens of pages on MARX in the SOCIALIST chapter, when Marx wrote the COMMUNIST manifesto!?! Does he explain the links or relationships between the two? Never. I was surprisingly disappointed in this book, as I would be very interested in a thorough, succinct, clear analysis of these philosophies.
Rating: 4 out of 5
A handbook of 20th century political ideas
This very concise book explains four major political structures that have shaped nations in the twentieth century. It is useful as an introduction to the theories of socialism, capitalism, fascism, and communism, but most people already have some idea of what these things are about. The greater benefit in reading this book may be in learning how these ideologies have been put into practice in different countries. In each section, the authors discuss the history and theory of the ideology, how it has been implemented, and then some other issues that relate to the topic. I was most curious about communism, and was glad to find that almost half the book is devoted to it. This book is for those who want a quick and informative overview on the varieties of political thinking that have been influential and continue to be influential in our world. In attempting to understand other nations, it is necessary to have some understanding of the politics that have shaped them. The edition I read was the tenth.
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