,

This list is for titles relating to the Enlightenment (also known as The Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Reason) in its various forms in the Western world during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is not restricted to the better-known, traditional "High Enlightenment" of eighteenth-century France, but aims to be comprehensive of all the various forms the Enlightenment took. In addition, the focus is not solely upon matters philosophical: the Enlightenment was as much a social phenomenon as an intellectual one. Therefore, titles relating to how knowledge were created, interpreted, disseminated and transformed are as welcome as books on the social and political background. In general our preference is for more recent works in English (or in English translation), but there is certainly space for the classics as well.
1

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3.78 avg rating — 58,772 ratings
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2

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3.89 avg rating — 35,239 ratings
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3

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3.69 avg rating — 581 ratings
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4

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3.96 avg rating — 43,112 ratings
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5

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4.14 avg rating — 432 ratings
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6

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3.94 avg rating — 22,631 ratings
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7

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3.60 avg rating — 9,216 ratings
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8

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3.70 avg rating — 53,783 ratings
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9

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3.98 avg rating — 5,425 ratings
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10

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3.83 avg rating — 3,210 ratings
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11

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3.77 avg rating — 37,188 ratings
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12

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3.87 avg rating — 19,706 ratings
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13

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4.07 avg rating — 187 ratings
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14

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4.12 avg rating — 257 ratings
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15

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4.26 avg rating — 1,736 ratings
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16

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3.94 avg rating — 14,576 ratings
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17

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4.24 avg rating — 37,541 ratings
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18

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4.18 avg rating — 405 ratings
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19

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4.02 avg rating — 15,592 ratings
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20

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4.08 avg rating — 14,726 ratings
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21

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3.80 avg rating — 5,375 ratings
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22

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3.94 avg rating — 194 ratings
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23

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4.10 avg rating — 21,713 ratings
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24

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4.06 avg rating — 2,286 ratings
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25

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3.69 avg rating — 153 ratings
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26

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4.23 avg rating — 22,337 ratings
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27

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3.61 avg rating — 258 ratings
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28

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4.04 avg rating — 1,095 ratings
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29

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3.74 avg rating — 156 ratings
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30

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3.94 avg rating — 2,546 ratings
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31

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4.22 avg rating — 576 ratings
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32

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3.57 avg rating — 5,374 ratings
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33

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3.78 avg rating — 2,647 ratings
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34

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3.25 avg rating — 12 ratings
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35

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3.64 avg rating — 77 ratings
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36

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4.30 avg rating — 105 ratings
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37

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4.43 avg rating — 174 ratings
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38

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4.31 avg rating — 65 ratings
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39

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3.90 avg rating — 83 ratings
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40

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4.04 avg rating — 166 ratings
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41

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3.77 avg rating — 326 ratings
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42

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4.15 avg rating — 230 ratings
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43

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3.74 avg rating — 7,393 ratings
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44

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4.10 avg rating — 42,314 ratings
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45

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4.11 avg rating — 754 ratings
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46

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3.76 avg rating — 305,034 ratings
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47

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3.94 avg rating — 6,888 ratings
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48

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4.05 avg rating — 151,732 ratings
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49

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3.75 avg rating — 48 ratings
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50

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4.06 avg rating — 18 ratings
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51

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3.67 avg rating — 1,662 ratings
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52

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4.04 avg rating — 2,659 ratings
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53

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3.92 avg rating — 181 ratings
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54

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3.47 avg rating — 90 ratings
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55

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3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
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56

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4.17 avg rating — 23 ratings
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57

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3.85 avg rating — 300 ratings
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58

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4.06 avg rating — 4,729 ratings
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59

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3.75 avg rating — 9,067 ratings
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60

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3.76 avg rating — 376 ratings
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61

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4.16 avg rating — 19 ratings
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62

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3.86 avg rating — 21 ratings
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63

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3.94 avg rating — 29,120 ratings
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64

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4.24 avg rating — 270 ratings
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64

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4.01 avg rating — 191 ratings
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64

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4.92 avg rating — 24 ratings
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67

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3.98 avg rating — 1,013 ratings
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68

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liked it 3.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
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69

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3.22 avg rating — 204 ratings
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70

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4.16 avg rating — 129 ratings
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71

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3.85 avg rating — 92,681 ratings
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72

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3.93 avg rating — 46 ratings
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73

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4.23 avg rating — 1,495 ratings
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73

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3.61 avg rating — 7,687 ratings
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73

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3.76 avg rating — 305,034 ratings
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76

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3.78 avg rating — 74 ratings
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76

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4.08 avg rating — 2,051 ratings
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78

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3.80 avg rating — 405 ratings
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79

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3.85 avg rating — 79 ratings
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79

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3.81 avg rating — 150 ratings
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81

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3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
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81

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3.79 avg rating — 9,851 ratings
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83

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3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings
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84

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3.62 avg rating — 8,245 ratings
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85

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3.57 avg rating — 670 ratings
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86

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings
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87

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3.52 avg rating — 166 ratings
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87

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3.88 avg rating — 49 ratings
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89

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4.24 avg rating — 4,828 ratings
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89

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3.98 avg rating — 125 ratings
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91

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4.16 avg rating — 484 ratings
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92

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3.94 avg rating — 49 ratings
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93

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3.89 avg rating — 212 ratings
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93

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3.93 avg rating — 27 ratings
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95

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3.40 avg rating — 10 ratings
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96

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3.95 avg rating — 22 ratings
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97

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3.93 avg rating — 14 ratings
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98

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3.82 avg rating — 22 ratings
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99

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4.17 avg rating — 204 ratings
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100

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3.81 avg rating — 21 ratings
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155 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


3535 398 books
36 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3388 books
851 friends
Lobstergirl 5880 books
157 friends
Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) 546 books
365 friends
Thom 6022 books
293 friends
Steven 4280 books
2491 friends
Isaac Miller 618 books
158 friends
Grace 582 books
162 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-14 of 14 (14 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Truly, an exciting list, 37 books (at this moment) that offer a graduate education in a four-foot shelf. Thank You, --Thom D.


message 2: by 3535 (new)

3535 Thanks, Thom. This is a combined project by me and Themis-Athena, and is set to grow. Glad one other person in the world of Goodreads shares our interest!



message 3: by 3535 (last edited Sep 09, 2009 07:55AM) (new)

3535 Could somebody with more computer savvy please disaggregate (or whatever) J.G.A. Pocock's Barbarism and Religion, Vol. 1 The Enlightenments of Edward Gibbon, 1737-1764. The four volumes are individual works which should be listed separately, NOT as different editions of one work, as is currently the case on the Goodreads database (it also seems as if vol. 2 is missing). The four volumes are:

Barbarism and Religion, vol. 1: The Enlightenments of Edward Gibbon, 1737–1764

Barbarism and Religion, vol. 2: Narratives of Civil Government

Barbarism and Religion, vol. 3: The First Decline and Fall

Barbarism and Religion, vol. 4: Barbarians, Savages and Empires


This astounding work of scholarship is in scope and erudition the equal of Gibbon's magnum opus; and is one of the greatest feats of intellectual history, and a truly magnificent contribution to the history of the Enlightenment.


message 4: by 3535 (last edited Sep 10, 2009 12:35AM) (new)

3535 As always the presentist bias of the Goodreads database (seemingly only in-print books) prevents me from adding another great classic of scholarship: European Thought in the Eighteenth Century, the sequel to Paul Hazard's famous The European Mind, 1680-1715.

My copy of the English translation dates from 1965 and I can find no ISBN number in it, so I don't know how to import it to Goodreads. Any advice?



message 5: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn All I can add--and I can't 'cause I don't know how-- is The Great Upheaval by Eye Forget. No where near as cerebral, still its uniting of world history across a single 12 year span (1788-1800) provides a fine historical background for just such a list as this.


message 6: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn Jay Winik.


message 7: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (last edited Sep 10, 2009 01:53PM) (new)

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) 3535 wrote: "As always the presentist bias of the Goodreads database (seemingly only in-print books) prevents me from adding another great classic of scholarship: European Thought in the Eighteenth Century, the..."

I added it after looking up the ISBN number on Amazon.

Will proceed with my chunk of the project now. What a truly great beginning you made, though! Thanks so much for starting this.

(Amended to say that I've added a number of books to the list -- my additions are still pretty hodge podge, though.)


message 8: by Thom (new)

Thom Dunn I keep punching up that Add books thingee and "vote" on many, but they don't seem to get on the list......and my computer says Are You Sure You Want to close etc. etc. In other words, I think I'm missing some kind of "Press Add" feature.


message 9: by 3535 (new)

3535 Hi Thom,

I am a complete technophobe, but I'll type out here the steps I go through to add something:

(it is all in the top right-hand corner)

1. Underneath the 'Find/Add books' bar, there is a space saying "title / author / isbn". Click in here with your browser.

2. Type in the title of the book or its author and click the 'search' button next to it.

3. A list of books will appear underneath it. Next to each title is a little button 'vote'. If you click on this 'vote', the title of the book will be added to the list.

I hope this helps; at any rate, it is what I do when adding books.

All the best,
Gerald


message 10: by 3535 (new)

3535 Dear Themis-Athena,

thanks for adding the Hazard. Could you, with your superior technical knowledge do something about the mess with Pocock's great series of books which is completely messed up in the Goodreads database. Of course, only if you want to and when you have the time.

Am rather busy now, but will come back to this list asap and liaise with you.

All the best! Hope you are well.
~ G




Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) G.,

You're being overly generous as far as my technical abilities are concerned -- I'm afraid "superior technical knowledge" is an assessment which, as applying to me, can only come from someone who has never seen me staring at my computer screen, complaining in a supremely puzzled voice that "I clicked on that button but it doesn't do what I want it to do. NOW what?!"

That said, even if I knew how to disambiguate items that really should be separate entries, I'm not a Goodreads editor (or librarian), and I'm afraid edits of the nature you're thinking of are reserved to them ... :(

On the upside, though, I'm done with my contributions to this list for the time being -- check your inbox.

What a fun project indeed!


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Thom - you could mention that Pocock needs cleaning up at the Librarians group.


message 13: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Reverted list name change.


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