politalX Politics Store - The Faber Book of Utopias
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List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £6.99
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780571203178
ISBN: 0571203175
Label: Faber and Faber
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: 2000-09-18
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Studio: Faber and Faber
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Editorial Reviews:
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The instinct to seek perfection in human affairs is as old as Western Civilisation; sometimes it is claimed that the perfect society is lost in the past, or is very distant in the future or across the hills, and sometimes utopia is seen as achievable in our own time, by the adoption of a particular political programme. The great strength of John Carey's anthology of utopian writing, though at times also a significant weakness, is that he is highly suspicious of the entire enterprise; it is not insignificant, he implies by careful selection, that one of the first pieces of Utopian writing is Plato's The Republic that, however benevolent its goals, is maintained by a mixture of force and lies and depends on squashing the aspirations of ordinary people. In his useful introduction, he points to some key themes: the production of perfect offspring and keeping them that way by education, the punishment of criminals, and the management of ageing and death. Carey suggests that there are insoluble problems in human life and that utopians tend to falsify them by regarding them as simple. This is a useful anthology, but a dispiriting one--Carey's determination to let no-one off the hook is harsh, but fair. --Roz Kaveney
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great as a prompt for further reading but little more
Comment: The FBoU is a very good book so long as you use it as intended. The aim is to give you a taste of the most important utopian literature from the past. Starting from almost 2000bc Carey guides one through Plato, Tacitus all the way through to Orwell and Huxley and beyond while stopping off along the way to consider an eclectic bunch including the Marquis de Sade, Zamyatin and Hitler. Indeed, it is the breadth of this journey which for some will undo the enjoyment of Carey's work.Buying the book as a means to becoming well read in utopian literature in a short space of time will not work. The book provides excerpts from utopian works, the length of which I often felt were too short to be satisifactory. As a stand alone book, the FBoU does simply does not work. Such criticism is perhaps unfair, as this is not how Carey probably intended the book to be used. Indeed as a first port of call the book is very good. Having read the short extracts one is often left wanting more. This in many ways is a credit to Carey as he provides an introduction to utopian literature that otherwise would be left forgotten. As a stimulus to further reading I have found few books as good as this, just don't expect to finish reading this book knowing all you would like to about the fascinating genre that is utopian writing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An excellently varied anthology
Comment: In this book John Carey gives us a varied selection of fantasy worlds, from the more traditional 'perfect' utopias to the dystopias of Orwell and Huxley. The selection varies from 1000BC right up to the modern day and gives a fascinating insight into the dreams of societies, showing how little humankind has changed. It is interesting to note how similar the utopian's ideas are, and how some of them now occur. Carey's editing is sublime, with the plot of each novel clearly and easily explained in a few paragraphs. The excerpts are similarily well chosen.
Customer Rating:
Summary: fascinating chronological overview
Comment: a book of excerpts from works on the subject of utopia with contextual/background commentaryi've been dipping in and out of it since november'99 and it's fascinating i'm reading it alongside 'the goddess vs the alphabet' & 'the english' which provide alternative views on linked subjects
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