4.03 avg rating — 7,544 ratings

"Russell evaluates ideologies commonly taken for granted. The main essay in this collection is, I think, among if not his best idea(s). He iterates a thread oft heard in radical education theories such as those of Ivan Illich, Matthew Crawford, and Jerome Bruner: time and peace are required for creative advances; and idleness--apparent or real--provides that freedom. Russell writes with a buoyant wit and clarity that ensures his work rises to the top of many discourses."

3.90 avg rating — 675 ratings

"Dworkin's reconstructive approach to legal theory illuminates flaws that were otherwise invisible before his seminal contribution; and he extends and consolidates jurisprudential trends to overcome theretofore inhibitive problems that are now rendered surmountable."

3.99 avg rating — 1,202 ratings

"The subject of my LLM dissertation. Nagel thoughtfully exposits objectivity and subjectivity; he explores their relationship in a lucid, incremental, and academically honest fashion. His ideas are well-developed and provided me with the critical tools to evaluate many concepts in philosophical, scientific, and legal epistemology that I struggled with before his insight."

3.88 avg rating — 67 ratings

"In Pluto's Republic Medawar, among other challenges, popularises Karl Popper's epistemology. While Popper's ideas are purposely simple (notwithstanding they may take patience to grasp fully), Medawar formulates the complexities in more fluid prose. Medawar also extends the scientific methodology to tackle ideas prevalent in, for example, psychoanalysis; he writes with integrity and is quite persuasive. This collection is influential because to emulate his best style successfully would be a worthy achievement."

4.40 avg rating — 784 ratings

"Hulk's style is wonderful, critical, and polite. The perspective taken in this book, as in Hulk's other criticism (on filmcrithulk.wordpress.com and badassdigest.com), is so respectful of others' craft, cinematic and literary constructions, and art that it sets a high benchmark in pedagogical writing monographs. This book--which I reference here to reflect a broader acknowledgment of Hulk's other writings--has had a profound influence on the way I view film, narrative, writing, and criticism, and also on the way I write (including my non-fiction)."

3.89 avg rating — 251 ratings

"Bruner considers and expands upon four themes that emerged during a conference about how to teach the sciences and maths. The result is a stunning collaborative text that introduced me to several pedagogical themes. The book has inspired many of my ideas for education reform. Although I enjoy his other work (including Minding the Law, with Anthony Amsterdam), I read his other work because I was so impressed by this one."