17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Utopian State of Mind, October 22, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Utopian Thought in the Western World (Belknap Press) (Hardcover)
"The great utopians have been our great realists." With this powerful insight the Manuels embark on a journey of 2,500 years which leaves the mind spinning. From Plato's Mediterranean Republic to More's island of Utopia; from Bacon's New Atlantis to Marx's Paradise of the Proletariat; and from Campanella's City of the Sun to McLuhan's Global Village, the utopian instinct has set in motion a series of visions which have been the key drivers behind major social and scientific accomplishments in the western world.
In chronicling what they call "the utopian propensity of mind," the Manuels essentially create a new genre, at once literary and philosophical. At its broadest, it would reach into the religious sphere - the "utopian moments" of Eastern Enlightenments, the Revelations of St. John on the island of Patmos. But the Manuels, wisely, pull back from the cosmic view to the generally secular, social, visions of a better world on earth.
The best utopians are realists, in that they focus the fire of their vision on the concrete specifics of this world, transporting them into the framework of an ideal universe. The vision, to quote a poet, is that of "real toads in imaginary gardens." Setting out from points of contact in the real world, they move into uncharted territories and terrains, places where no one has yet gone. Etymologically, "Utopia" is the Great Good Place which is No Place. Chimerical, fantastic, improbable, and motivating, Utopias are the engines behind our evolutionary imaginations.
At 900 pages and 17 pounds, this beautifully written, erudite and witty book from the 1970s is an unrecognized national treasure, waiting, like some ancient artifact of utopia itself, to be uncovered and released to the world.
Like the imaginary voyages of the 18th century, like science fiction, and like the virtual realities of the Worldwide Web, the visionary landscapes of utopia startle, wake up, and propel us towards the creation of our own future. Go buy this from your nearest Amazon used-book dealer, and start creating your own future!
Note: The Manuels' map of utopia is a map of the human imagination at its richest, and actually could become a roadmap for the Worldwide Web as well.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Virtual Reality, August 2, 2003
This review is from: Utopian Thought in the Western World (Belknap Press) (Hardcover)
This massive volume is one of the best on the subject of utopian themes and literature. The discredit foisted on the genre in the wake of Communism makes us forget the rich literature of the early modern, beginning with More, and proceeding through such figures as Harrington and many others. The rich detail of this history is beautifully summoned from its cultural archive, and the best critique of this art-form is not the obsessive "I'm alright Jack" of conservatives but the actual exploration of the history.
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