Book Reviews : American Political Thought. By ALAN PENDLETON GRIMES. (New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1955. Pp. xi, 500. $4.75.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295600900145 |
| Published date | 01 March 1956 |
| Date | 01 March 1956 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
214
M.
Vlachos
writes
highly
lucid
and
at
times
eloquent
French.
His
analysis
gives
clear
evidence
of
enormous
industry
and
of
a
thorough
familiarity
with
Hume’s
writings.
From
these
writings
are
given
in
French
translations
a
most
liberal
number
of
illustrative
excerpts
to
accompany
an
exceedingly
cogent
treatment
of
the
development
of
various
aspects
of
Hume’s
political
thought.
This
thought
is
clearly
and
carefully
related
to
his
general
philosophy.
The
account
of
the
philosopher’s
strong
reaction
against
rationalism,
with
his
well-known
criticism
of
the
social
contract,
may
be
recognized
to
be
especially
well
managed.
In
general,
however,
so
concise
is
the
story
of
the
several
strands
entering
into
the
texture
of
Hume’s
basic
political
philosophy
that
any
attempt
to
summarize
it
in
brief
compass
would
demonstrate
the
impossibility
of
the
task.
The
principal
characteristic
of
M.
Vlachos’s
volume
is
clear
exposition.
This
is
undoubtedly
a
very
solid
merit.
There
is
a
corresponding
relative
paucity
of
appraisal.
This
accords
with
a
plan
that
is
no
doubt
defensible.
No
difficulty
attaches
to
finding
between
the
lines
a
real
admiration
for
Hume.
At
the
same
time,
there
appears
likewise
some
regret
for
the
essentially
destructive
character
of
a
political
philosophy
the
more
positive
aspects
of
which
display
at
times
&dquo;waverings
and
contradictions.&dquo;
University
of
Virginia.
R.
K.
GOOCH.
American
Political
Thought.
By
ALAN
PENDLETON
GRIMES.
(New
York:
Henry
Holt
and
Company.
1955.
Pp.
xi,
500.
$4.75.)
There
seems
to
be
a
trend
toward
better
writing
of
the
American
college
textbook,
at
any
rate
in
the
field
of
political
science.
The
subject
of
the
present
review,
written
in
a
way
to
engage
the
interest
of
both
the
beginning
and
the
advanced
student,
would
seem
to
the
reviewer
better
designed
for
the
average
course
in
the
history
of
American
political
thought
than
any
other
textbook
available.
This
is
not
an
extensive
and
arid
outline
of
the
subject
like
one
of
the
texts
in
the
same
field
most
widely
used
in
the
past,
with
its
pages
cluttered
with
the
names
of
hundreds
of
contributors
and
the
brief
summaries
of
their
often
soon-forgotten
works.
The
treatment
here
centers
on
significant
historical
movements,
relating
the
American
phase
to
the
European
back-
ground,
and
relating
also
the
thought
to
the
time
and
circumstance.
The
book
is
not
unduly
large,
yet
sufficiently
comprehensive
of
sound,
if
rather
traditional,
analyses
of
major
contributions
to
American
political
thought,
as
these
intertwine
with
the
institutional
development.
While
not
a
little
of
the
content
is
common
to
college
texts
and
courses
in
American
history
and
American
government
generally,
it
ought
certainly
to
serve
to
inform
and
enlighten
the
undergraduate
mind
on
the
history
of
our
political
think-
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