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Books

Karl Marx: His Life and Environment

– Karl Marx: His Life and Environment, London: Thornton Butterworth; Toronto: Nelson. 5th edition, ed. Henry Hardy, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2013, [1939].  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin’s intellectual biography of Karl Marx has long been recognized as one of the best concise accounts of the life and thought of the man who had,… More

Freedom and its Betrayal: Six Enemies of Human Liberty

– Freedom and its Betrayal: Six Enemies of Human Liberty (1952), Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002.  
From the Publisher: “These celebrated lectures constitute one of Isaiah Berlin’s most concise, accessible, and convincing presentations of his views on human freedom–views… More

The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy’s View of History

– The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson; New York: Simon and Schuster. Expanded version of ‘Lev Tolstoy's Historical Scepticism’, Oxford Slavonic Papers, 2, 1951: 17–54. Reprinted in Berlin 2008; 2nd edition, ed. Henry Hardy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
From the Publisher: “‘The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.’ This ancient Greek aphorism, preserved in a fragment from the poet Archilochus,… More

The Roots of Romanticism

– The Roots of Romanticism (1965), Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus; Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013 [1999].  
From the Publisher: “The Roots of Romanticism at last makes available in printed form Isaiah Berlin’s most celebrated lecture series, the Mellon lectures, delivered in… More

Russian Thinkers

– Russian Thinkers. London, 1978: Hogarth Press; New York, Viking, 1978.  
From the Publisher: “Few, if any, English-language critics have written as perceptively as Isaiah Berlin about Russian thought and culture. Russian Thinkers is his unique meditation… More

Concepts and Categories: Philosophical Essays

– 1978b, Concepts and Categories: Philosophical Essays, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Hogarth Press; New York: Viking, 1979: Viking; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.  
From the Publisher: ” “The goal of philosophy is always the same, to assist men to understand themselves and thus to operate in the open, not wildly in the… More

Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas

– 1979, Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Hogarth Press; New York, 1980: Viking; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.  
From the Publisher: “In this outstanding collection of essays, Isaiah Berlin, one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century, discusses the importance of dissenters in the history… More

Personal Impressions

– Personal Impressions. London: Hogarth Press,1980; New York: Viking, 1981; 2nd edition London: Pimlico, 1998.  
From the Publisher: “In this collection of remarkable biographical portraits, the great essayist and intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin brings to life a wide range of prominent… More

“A Letter on Human Nature”

– “A Letter on Human Nature” (1986), letter to Beata Polanowska-Sygulska, New York Review of Books, 23 September, 26, 2004.  
Excerpt: “First, then, let me talk about the difficult question of “human nature.” Do I believe in a fixed and unalterable human nature?—you rightly quote me as saying that I do… More

The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Chapters in the History of Ideas

– The Crooked Timber of Humanity: Chapters in the History of Ideas, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: John Murray. New York: Knopf, 1991; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013 [1990]. Vico, de Maistre, Romanticism, Relativism
From the Publisher: ” “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.”–Immanuel Kant Isaiah Berlin was one of the most important… More

The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and their History

– The Sense of Reality: Studies in Ideas and their History, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus; New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998.
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin’s The Sense of Reality contains an important body of previously unknown work by one of our century’s leading historians of ideas, and… More

The Proper Study of Mankind: An Anthology of Essays

– The Proper Study of Mankind: An Anthology of Essays, Henry Hardy and Roger Hausheer (eds.), London: Chatto and Windus; New York, 1998: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 2nd ed., London: Vintage, 2013 [1997].  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin was one of the leading thinkers of our time and one of its finest writers. The Proper Study of Mankind brings together his most celebrated writing:… More

The Power of Ideas

– The Power of Ideas, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus; Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013 [2000].  
From the Publisher: “The essays collected in this new volume reveal Isaiah Berlin at his most lucid and accessible. He was constitutionally incapable of writing with the opacity of… More

Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder

– Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder (1960–65), Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Pimlico; Princeton: Princeton University Press; 2nd ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013 [2000].  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin was deeply admired during his life, but his full contribution was perhaps underestimated because of his preference for the long essay form. The… More

Political Ideas in the Romantic Age: Their Rise and Influence on Modern Thought

– Political Ideas in the Romantic Age: Their Rise and Influence on Modern Thought, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.  
From the Publisher: “Political Ideas in the Romantic Age is the only book in which the great intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin lays out in one continuous account most of his key… More

Flourishing: Letters 1928–1946

– Flourishing: Letters 1928–1946, Henry Hardy (ed.), London: Chatto and Windus. Published in the USA as Letters 1928–1946, New York: Cambridge University Press. Paperback with UK title, London: Pimlico; Chicago: Trafalgar Square Publishing, 2005.  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin is one of the towering intellectual figures of the 20th century and the focus of growing discussion among those interested in politics and… More

Enlightening: Letters 1946–1960

– Enlightening: Letters 1946–1960, Henry Hardy and Jennifer Holmes (eds.), London: Chatto and Windus, 2009.  
From the Publisher: “”People are my landscape,” Isaiah Berlin liked to say, and nowhere is the truth of this observation more evident than in his letters. This second… More

The Magus of the North: J.G. Hamann and the Origins of Modern Irrationalism

– The Magus of the North: J.G. Hamann and the Origins of Modern Irrationalism. London: John Murray, 1993; New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1994.  
From the Publisher: “J.G. Hamann (1730-88) was a solitary and idiosyncratic thinker who lived a life of poverty and neglect. He was admired by Herder, Goethe, and later by… More

Commentary

“Relativism” by Leo Strauss

– Strauss, Leo. ‘Relativism’, in Relativism and the Study of Man. H. Schoeck and J. Wiggins (eds.). Princeton: Van Nostrand, 1961.  

“Berlin on the Compatibility of Values, Ideals, and “Ends.’”

– MacCallum, Gerald C. “Berlin on the Compatibility of Values, Ideals, and “Ends.’” Ethics, 77: 139–45, 1967.  
Excerpt: “THE above passage in Berlin’s inaugural lecture launches an attack on what might be called the “compatibility conviction,” one version of which is provided… More

“Introduction to Berlin” from Personal Impressions

– Annan, Noel. “Introduction to Berlin” in, Isaiah Berlin. Personal Impressions. London: Hogarth Press, 1980.
From the Publisher: “In this collection of remarkable biographical portraits, the great essayist and intellectual historian Isaiah Berlin brings to life a wide range of prominent… More

Review of Against the Current by Stanley Rosen

– Rosen, Stanley. “Review: Against the Current: Essays in the History of Ideas by Isaiah Berlin.” The Journal of Modern History, 53/2, June 1981.  
The late Stanley Rosen assesses Isaiah Berlin’s contribution as a Cold War liberal and as a thinker.

A Critical Appraisal of Sir Isaiah Berlin’s Political Philosophy

– Kocis, Robert. A Critical Appraisal of Sir Isaiah Berlin's Political Philosophy. Lewiston, NY, etc.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989.  
From the Publisher: “This critical appraisal of Isaiah Berlin’s thoughts on the nature of reality, of humanity, of values, and of politics and liberty describes his views as… More

Isaiah Berlin: A Celebration

– Margalit, Edna and Avishai, (eds.). Isaiah Berlin: A Celebration. London: Hogarth Press; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Biography, introduction
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin: A Celebration gathers tributes, reflections, and commentaries on the great thinker and his philosophy, politics, and life-including contributions… More

Conversations with Isaiah Berlin

– Jahanbegloo, Ramin. Conversations with Isaiah Berlin. London: Peter Halban; New York 1992, Scribner’s, 1992.
From the Publisher: “The philosopher, intellectual historian, and proponent of liberal thinking recounts his life, interspersing personal reminiscences with a discussion of the great… More

Isaiah Berlin’s Liberalism

– Galipeau, Claude J. Isaiah Berlin's Liberalism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994.
From the Publisher: “This is the first systematic study of Sir Isaiah Berlin’s political ideas to draw on all of his writings, including manuscripts, interviews, and… More

Isaiah Berlin by John Gray

– Gray, John. Isaiah Berlin. London: HarperCollins; Princeton, 1996: Princeton University Press; retitled Berlin for the paperback edition, London, 1995: Fontana.
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) was the greatest intellectual historian of the twentieth century. But his work also made an original and important contribution to moral… More

“Are there Limits to Liberalism? Review of John Gray, Isaiah Berlin”

– Walzer, Michael. “Are there Limits to Liberalism? Review of John Gray, Isaiah Berlin” New York Times Review of Books October 1995.    
Excerpt: “In his famous essay on Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Isaiah Berlin divides writers about human affairs—philosophers, historians, social theorists, novelists, and poets—into… More

Isaiah Berlin: A Life

– Ignatieff, Michael. Isaiah Berlin: A Life. London: Chatto and Windus; New York: Metropolitan, 1998.  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin was witness to a century. Born in Riga in the twilight of the Czarist empire, he lived long enough to see the Soviet state collapse. The son of a… More

“The Don as Magus: Isaiah Berlin”

– Annan, Noel. ‘The Don as Magus: Isaiah Berlin,’ in Noel Annan. The Dons: Mentors, Eccentrics and Geniuses. London: HarperCollins, 1999.
From the Publisher: “For two hundred years Oxford and Cambridge Universities were home to some of Britain’s greatest teachers and intellects, each forming the minds of the… More

“Freedom and Money”

– Cohen, G. A. “Freedom and Money."  
Excerpt: “Although I was devoted to Isaiah, and although he was bountifully kind to me, we were not of one mind on political questions, and we were also not of one mind on… More

The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin

– Lilla, Mark, Ronald Dworkin and Robert B. Silvers (eds.). The Legacy of Isaiah Berlin. New York: New York Review Books; London: Granta, 2001.  
From the Publisher: “Looks at the intellectual legacy left by the influential philosopher Isaiah Berlin, and the repercussions his thought has had upon moral, political, and cultural… More

“Interpreting Berlin’s Liberalism”

– Riley, Jonathan, “Interpreting Berlin's Liberalism,” American Political Science Review, 95: 283–95, 2001.
Abstract: “I argue that Isaiah Berlin’s pluralistic liberalism is best interpreted as a sophisticated form of liberal rationalism, as Berlin himself suggests. His value… More

“A Berlin for Historians”

– Cracraft, James. "A Berlin for Historians." History and Theory, 41, Oct. 2002, pp. 277-300.
Abstract: “On his death in 1997 Isaiah Berlin was widely hailed as a leading philosopher of political liberalism. This article takes the position that Berlin’s philosophical views,… More

Isaiah Berlin’s Counter-Enlightenment

– Mali, Joseph, and Robert Wokler (eds.). Isaiah Berlin's Counter-Enlightenment. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 93 No 3, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 2003. Enlightenment, counter-enlightenment
From the Publisher: “As the essays in this collection make plain, Isaiah Berlin invented neither the term “Counter-Enlightenment” nor the concept. However, more than any… More

Isaiah Berlin: Liberty and Pluralism

– Crowder, George. Isaiah Berlin: Liberty and Pluralism. Cambridge: Polity, 2004.
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin was one of the leading political thinkers of the twentieth century, and his work continues to attract admiration and debate. In Isaiah Berlin:… More

“Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty”

– Toscano, Roberto, “Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty."    
Excerpt: “It has always been difficult, if not impossible, to categorise Isaiah Berlin according to specific intellectual disciplines: Was he a «historian of thought» or a political… More

“The Spectacles of Isaiah Berlin”

– Inbari, Assaf. “The Spectacles of Isaiah Berlin.” Azure Online, 2006  
Excerpt: “Honest liberals know that they are not pluralists. They know that the liberal worldview does not recognize the validity of other worldviews, and that it aspires—using all… More

“Berlin, Liberalism in the Face of Diversity”

– Crowder, George. “Berlin, Liberalism in the Face of Diversity,” resetdoc.org. June, 2007.  
Excerpt: “An increase of complexity, a multiplication of the quests for an identitarian acknowledgement, an erosion of the modern instruments for conflict resolution: contemporary… More

The One and the Many: Reading Isaiah Berlin

– Crowder, George, and Henry Hardy (eds). The One and the Many: Reading Isaiah Berlin, Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2007.  
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin is widely acknowledged as a major figure in twentieth-century political philosophy and the history of ideas. His famous Oxford inaugural lecture,… More

“Berlin My Hero”

– Cartwright, Justin, “Berlin My Hero,” Jewish Quarterly, February, 2009.
Excerpt: “I can sum it up simply by calling myself a wannabe Jew. From my earliest days I have had the sense that Jews embody the distillation of what it is to be human. As if being… More

“Isaiah Berlin: The Free Thinker”

– Fraser, Nick. “Isaiah Berlin: The Free Thinker.” The Independent, May 2009.
Excerpt: “Next week the faithful will assemble to mark the centenary of the philosopher Isaiah Berlin. He’ll be celebrated in Jerusalem, which he loved, in Harvard where he… More

“Isaiah Berlin, Beyond the Wit”

– Goldstein, Evan. “Isaiah Berlin, Beyond the Wit.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. November, 2009.
Excerpt: “Isaiah Berlin—renowned liberal theorist, historian of ideas, Oxford don, cultural gadfly—was one of the great raconteurs of his generation. According to Robert Darnton,… More

The Book of Isaiah by Henry Hardy

– Hardy, Henry (ed.). The Book of Isaiah: Personal Impressions of Isaiah Berlin. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press in association with Wolfson College, Oxford, 2009.
From the Publisher: “Isaiah Berlin was born a century ago. One of the most celebrated British thinkers of the twentieth century, he was a tireless champion of freedom and diversity… More

“Some Remarks on Isaiah Berlin”

– Khachaturian, Rafael. “Some Remarks on Isaiah Berlin.” Dissent Magazine, August 2010.  
Excerpt: “Last year’s centennial of Isaiah Berlin’s birth saw yet another revival of interest in his life and thought. Thanks largely to the indefatigable Henry Hardy, his… More

Encounters with Isaiah Berlin: Story of an Intellectual Friendship

– Walicki, Andrzej. Encounters with Isaiah Berlin: Story of an Intellectual Friendship. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2011.  
From the Publisher: “The volume contains Isaiah Berlin’s letters to his Polish friend, Andrzej Walicki, and Walicki’s detailed account of Berlin’s role in his life. Berlin… More

Isaiah Berlin: The Journey of a Jewish Liberal

– Dubnov, Arie M. Isaiah Berlin: The Journey of a Jewish Liberal. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.  
From the Publisher: “This study offers a fresh reappraisal of the philosopher, political thinker, and historian of ideas Sir Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) from childhood to the height of… More

“Isaiah Berlin and the Humanity of History”

– von Bismarck, Helene, “Isaiah Berlin and the Humanity of History.” The British Scholar Society, November 2012.  
Excerpt: “Ideally, every historian ought to give his own methodology the same amount of consideration that he dedicates to the historic events he is examining. A good way to start is… More

Isaac and Isaiah: The Covert Punishment of a Cold War Heretic

– Caute, David. Isaac and Isaiah: The Covert Punishment of a Cold War Heretic. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2013.
From the Publisher: “Rancorous and highly public disagreements between Isaiah Berlin and Isaac Deutscher escalated to the point of cruel betrayal in the mid-1960s, yet surprisingly… More

A Mind and Its Time: The Development of Isaiah Berlin’s Political Thought

– Cherniss, Joshua L. A Mind and Its Time: The Development of Isaiah Berlin’s Political Thought, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.  
From the Publisher: “A Mind and its Time offers the most detailed account to date of the genesis and development of Isaiah Berlin’s political thought, philosophical views, and… More

An Affirmative Defense of the Liberal Tradition by Mark Blitz

– Mark Blitz, "An Affirmative Defense of the Liberal Tradition," Library of Law and Liberty, February 23, 2015.
Mark Blitz reviews and discusses Isaiah Berlin’s thought in this essay at Library of Law and Liberty. Excerpt: Freedom and Its Betrayal consists of reconstructions from transcripts… More

Notes on Liberty

– John Gray, Literary Review, September 2015.
Excerpt: Today the thought that democracy can be repressive of liberty is all but forbidden. If a democratically elected government persecutes minorities, we are told, the reason can only… More

Multimedia

Lecture on Joseph de Maistre

Isaiah Berlin, from the Woodbridge Lectures, ‘Two Enemies of the Enlightenment’ (Hamann and Maistre), Harkness Theater, Columbia University, October 27, 1965.