The Power Of Ideas

Nov 27, 2025 8:09 PM

Author:Isaiah Berlin

The Power Of Ideas

'Over a hundred years ago, the German poet Heine warned the French not to underestimate the power of ideas: philosophical concepts nurtured in the stillness of a professor's study could destroy a civilisation' - Isaiah Berlin, Two Concepts of Liberty, 1958.

The nineteen essays collected here show Isaiah Berlin at his most lucid: these short, introductory pieces provide the perfect starting point for the reader new to his work. Their linking theme is the crucial social and political role of ideas, and of their progenitors. The subjects vary widely - from philosophy to education, from Russia to Israel, from Marxism to romanticism - and the appositeness of Heine's warning is exemplified on a broad front.

The contents include Berlin's last essay - a retrospective autobiographical survey and the classic statement of his Zionist views. As a whole the book exhibits the full range of his expertise, and demonstrates the enormously engaging individuality, as well as the power, of his own ideas.

Reviews

Each of these essays fulfils Raymond Carver's criterion for the short story: to leave the reader's body temperature a degree higher or lower than when the book was opened

—— Nicholas Fearn , Independent on Sunday

Shows how seriously he took the task of inspiring the general reader...displays the full breadth of his learning and experience

—— Daniel Johnson , Daily Telegraph

Berlin's description of Jews in contemporary Western society is brilliant, indeed dazzling

—— David Hillel-Ruben , Jewish Chronicle

'A very gripping story . . . the reader is drawn in inexorably to discover what horror lies at the heart of it . . . an apocalyptic fable for today'

—— John Spurling , The Times Literary Supplement

'Many respectable judges would put Edric in the top ten of British novelists currently at work . . . as a writer, he specialises in the delicate hint and the game not given away'

—— D.J. Taylor , Spectator

'It will be surprising if this year sees a more disturbing or haunting novel'

—— Peter Kemp , The Sunday Times

'Stunning . . . evocatively brings to life the stifling humidity and constant rainfall of the Congo'

—— John Cooper , The Times

'A really brilliant first novel, he is obviously a major talent'

—— Prunella Scales

'The match of the madder moments of John Irving or Tom Sharpe...this is a promisingly entertaining "lite" read'

—— The Times

'At its best when taking pot-shots at a wide variety of modern ills - fast food, tabloid media, downsizing, soap-opera politics...One of Morgan's nicer inventions is a computer program that boils down complex texts to their essentials. Its treatment of the Old Testament renders it down to: "Because I say so, that's why"'

—— Independent

'Suspenseful, atmospheric and highly intelligent, Jody Shields focuses a brilliant light on the murky world of imperial Vienna'

—— D. M. Thomas

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