Boydell & Brewer

Liberal intellectuals and public culture in modern Britain, 1815-1914; making words flesh.

The subtitle, Making Words Flesh, refers to a statement made by John Maynard Keynes in 1920, in which he expresses fears that ideas articulated at the 1919 Paris peace conference were vulnerable to "...events marching on to their fated conclusion uninfluenced and unaffected by the cerebrations of Statesmen in Council." Lubenow (history, Stockton College, New Jersey) investigates the topic announced in the title, arranging his study in chapters addressing the transition from confessional to liberal values, activities in the universities and professions, a new regime of social worth, new forms of social ties, literalism and certainty, Roman Catholicism, and nationalism. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Obasanjo, Nigeria and the world.

This is a biography of Olusegun Obasanjo, the military ruler of Nigeria from 1976 to 1979 and president from 1999 to 2007. Attempting to resolve the contradiction between Obasanjo's many achievements as a soldier and statesman and the obloquy that was visited upon his name as he left office, Iliffe (retired, African history, Cambridge U.) identifies four themes that run through Obasanjo's life: the maintenance of his ties to Yoruba culture, the importance of Nigerian patriotism to his politics, his obsession with questions of power, and his failure to recognize and adapt to changes in the international and national contexts of his later career. Distributed in the US by Boydell & Brewer. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The political life of Josiah C. Wedgwood; land, liberty and empire, 1872-1943.

This volume in the Royal Historical Society's series is a study of the life and work of "Josh" Wedgwood, who "was one of the best known politicians of his day" (from the preface) and yet is "largely forgotten now." He was a strong Individualist following in the traditions of Adam Smith, J.S. Mill, and Herbert Spencer, believing that "self-interest was not only the best guide to the physical well-being of the individual, but to his moral well-being and to the greater good of society as a whole." Mulvey is affiliated with the London School of Economics. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)