Honorable Mention for the 2015 PROSE Award in Government & Politics, Association of American Publishers
A richly informative historical tour of liberal leaders and concepts. . . . [Fawcett] takes a commendably liberal approach.---Alan Wolfe, New York Times Book Review
Excellent. . . . What Fawcett clearly and compellingly shows is that the relationship of capitalism to the state, of economics to politics, should be at the heart of any history of liberal ideas. Whether you take his version as a story about liberalism's realist adaptability or its counterrevolutionary intent, it's a fitting one for a moment in which capitalism and political economy are back on the agenda.---Katrina Forrester, The Nation
Fawcett's workmanlike history of the bundle of ideas and practices that liberals have espoused since the Spanish liberales coined the term after the Napoleonic wars is an excellent guide to liberalism's rise and fall.---David Marquand, New Republic
[A] comprehensive, quirky, scholarly and personal exploration of one of the dominant ideas in political discourse. . . . This is a phenomenal work of research and synthesis. . . . A pool of profound, rigorous research and thought that has no shallow end. * Kirkus Reviews *
[Liberalism] confirms the virtues of the disciplined generalist's approach to the exploration of politics. Deftly combining history, economic thought, and political theory, Fawcett has produced the sort of synoptic work that in our era is increasingly unlikely to come from universities. . . . [It] not only draws on the practicing journalist's close observation of political affairs but also the educated person of letters' facility across many disciplines. The result is an engrossing narrative of liberalism's dramatic career--often lustrous but also marked by its share of delusion, hypocrisy, hubris, and tragedy.---Peter Berkowitz, Real Clear Politics
Liberalism by Edmund Fawcett is not only a gripping piece of intellectual history, it also equips the reader to understand today's threats--and how they might be withstood. . . . Liberalism is indeed under siege. Those who would fortify the walls would do well to study the foundations. Mr Fawcett's book offers an admirable archaeology. * Economist *
A book so good I want to read it again. . . . An intellectual page-turner. . . . [A] seamless mix of philosophy, history, biography and history of ideas.---David Goodhart, Standpoint
Fawcett draws on the experiences and ideas of dozen of thinkers and politicians in an informative, lively, and provocative history of a political tradition he deems 'worth standing up for.' . . . Fawcett's book is an immensely interesting, informative, and important assessment of liberalism. . . . Liberalism is as relevant as ever, Fawcett concludes, passionately and persuasively.---Glenn C. Altschuler, Huffington Post
[An] impressive account of the 'life of an idea.' . . . One of the many virtues of Fawcett's unfailingly stimulating book is that he makes you look past the misleading labels with which we characterise political argument. For anyone interested in the history of the ideas that have shaped our society, his book is essential reading.---Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday
Magnificent.---Bruce Edward Walker, Morning Sun
Fawcett has written a marvelous book. . . . His erudition would be daunting if he didn't write with such verve. . . . It's a pleasure.---Clive Crook, Bloomberg View
As Fawcett's compelling history reveals, the twentieth century turned out to be much more unstable and dangerous than the early liberals anticipated and has forced liberals ever since to temper their expectations for human betterment with a world-weary search for small steps that can keep the liberal international system on an upward trajectory. * Foreign Affairs *
Liberalism is an important and worthwhile book.---Walter Moss, History News Network
This is a good and well-written book. . . . It is wide-ranging, informative, and independent in its judgments.---James Kalb, Chronicles
Fawcett expertly reveals [liberalism's] evolution, dead-ends, and permutations. A sprawling yarn that somehow remains utterly coherent and on-point, this is history at its very best.---Jeff Bloodworth, Gannon University, Cercles
[A] felicitous combination of wit and erudition. * Choice *
In this remarkable book, Edmund Fawcett sets out a helpful characterization of liberalism as it has flourished in Europe and America since the 1830s.---Jeremy Waldron, The Guardian
A brilliant book; if you have one book on Liberalism in your library . . . this should be it.---Stewart Rayment, Liberator
A magisterial history of liberalism.---Sebastian Mallaby, , Washington Post
The central idea of liberalism is the primacy of the individual rather than the collective. But in his brilliant history, Liberalism: the Life of an Idea, Edmund Fawcett makes clear that liberalism involves four other ideas: (1) the inescapability of conflict, (2) distrust of power, (3) faith in progress, (4) civic respect. * The Economist *
[An] excellent history of the subject. * The Economist *
