Reviews

An outstanding tome that is a must-read for anyone interests in state (polity) and political science history. A complete encapsulation of liberty and the difficulty maintaining it. Very well presented and easily to follow and understand, yet very, very deep. Just a masterpiece in writing.

sillypunk's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

SO INTERESTING: https://blogendorff.com/2019/11/09/book-review-the-narrow-corridor/

tseverhart's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging informative slow-paced

3.75

kelshef's review

Go to review page

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

bub_9's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

So I actually thought this work was more innovative and interesting than Why Nations Fail, which truly must be one of the most confusing works I have ever read, in terms of the critical acclaim versus the work itself. Anyway, there are some very interesting ideas here, though it still remains prone to much of the issues I had with the earlier work, mainly a kind of neoliberal developmental thinking that truly feels very dated in 2022, and an even more virtuosic range of case studies, which does nonetheless sometimes feel like a case of showing-off, as it isn't always evident why we need all these examples. In particular, though, I did like the attempt to explicate populism in the context of these state-society tensions the authors focus on; this might be the most convincing account of populism I have yet encountered.

rick2's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Interesting and thought provoking. But written in an obtuse and nearly inscrutable way.

5* for the ideas
3* for the writing

More...