The Forum and the Tower

How Scholars and Politicians Have Imagined the World, from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt

Nonfiction, History, World History, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Forum and the Tower by Mary Ann Glendon, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mary Ann Glendon ISBN: 9780199843732
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: August 1, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Mary Ann Glendon
ISBN: 9780199843732
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: August 1, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

As Mary Ann Glendon writes in this fascinating new book, the relationship between politics and the academy has been fraught with tension and regret-and the occasional brilliant success-since Plato himself. In The Forum and the Tower, Glendon examines thinkers who have collaborated with leaders, from ancient Syracuse to the modern White House, in a series of brisk portraits that explore the meeting of theory and reality. Glendon discusses a roster of great names, from Edmund Burke to Alexis de Tocqueville, Machiavelli to Rousseau, John Locke to Max Weber, down to Charles Malik, who helped Eleanor Roosevelt draft the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With each, she explores the eternal questions they faced, including: Is politics such a dirty business that I shouldn't get involved? Will I betray my principles by pursuing public office? Can I make a difference, or will my efforts be wasted? Even the most politically successful intellectuals, she notes, did not all end happily. The brilliant Marcus Tullius Cicero, for example, reached the height of power in the late Roman Republic, then fell victim to intrigue, assassinated at Mark Antony's order. Yet others had a lasting impact. The legal scholar Tribonian helped Byzantine Emperor Justinian I craft the Corpus Juris Civilis, which became a bedrock of Western law. Portalis and Napoleon emulated them, creating the civil code that the French emperor regarded as his greatest legacy. Formerly ambassador to the Vatican and an eminent legal scholar, Glendon knows these questions personally. Here she brings experience and expertise to bear in a timely, and timeless, study.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

As Mary Ann Glendon writes in this fascinating new book, the relationship between politics and the academy has been fraught with tension and regret-and the occasional brilliant success-since Plato himself. In The Forum and the Tower, Glendon examines thinkers who have collaborated with leaders, from ancient Syracuse to the modern White House, in a series of brisk portraits that explore the meeting of theory and reality. Glendon discusses a roster of great names, from Edmund Burke to Alexis de Tocqueville, Machiavelli to Rousseau, John Locke to Max Weber, down to Charles Malik, who helped Eleanor Roosevelt draft the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With each, she explores the eternal questions they faced, including: Is politics such a dirty business that I shouldn't get involved? Will I betray my principles by pursuing public office? Can I make a difference, or will my efforts be wasted? Even the most politically successful intellectuals, she notes, did not all end happily. The brilliant Marcus Tullius Cicero, for example, reached the height of power in the late Roman Republic, then fell victim to intrigue, assassinated at Mark Antony's order. Yet others had a lasting impact. The legal scholar Tribonian helped Byzantine Emperor Justinian I craft the Corpus Juris Civilis, which became a bedrock of Western law. Portalis and Napoleon emulated them, creating the civil code that the French emperor regarded as his greatest legacy. Formerly ambassador to the Vatican and an eminent legal scholar, Glendon knows these questions personally. Here she brings experience and expertise to bear in a timely, and timeless, study.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Building the Federal Schoolhouse by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Sentencing Fragments by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Some Men by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book The al-Qaeda Franchise by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Buddhist Fury by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Autoethnography by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Exchange Politics by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Islamic Finance: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Foundations for Clinical Neurology by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book A Revolution in Favor of Government by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Ethnomusicology: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Working with the Grain by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book In Pursuit of Equity by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Republic of Equals by Mary Ann Glendon
Cover of the book Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Mary Ann Glendon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy