The Quest for Community: a Study in the Ethics of Order and Freedom

Nisbet, Robert A. 1953. The quest for community: a study in the ethics of order and freedom. New York: Oxford University Press.

Abstract: Part One: Community and the Problem of Order: 1 The Loss of Community One may paraphrase the famous words of Karl Marx and say that a specter is haunting the modern mind, the specter of insecurity. Surely the outstand­ ing characteristic of contemporary thought on man and… More

Tradition and Revolt: Historical and Sociological Essays

Nisbet, Robert A. 1968. Tradition and revolt: historical and sociological essays. New York, NY: Random House.

Review from Amazon.com: This classic volume deals with a crucial contemporary social issue: the conflict between traditionalism and modernism. Nisbet considers such subjects as power, community, culture, and the university. He deals directly with the values of authority, tradition,… More

Social Change and History: Aspects of the Western Theory of Development

Nisbet, Robert A. 1969. Social change and history: aspects of the Western theory of development. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Preface: The primary purpose of this book is to set forth the essential sources and contests of the Western idea of social development. The book is in large part historical, in smaller part analytical and critical. In the rather long final chapter I explore some of the difficulties which… More

The Social Bond: an Introduction to the Study of Society

Nisbet, Robert A. 1970. The social bond: an introduction to the study of society. New York: Knopf.

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The Degradation of the Academic Dogma: the University in America, 1945-1970

Nisbet, Robert A. 1971. The degradation of the academic dogma: the university in America, 1945-1970. New York: Basic Books, Inc.  

Preface: THIS BOOK IS a very considerable enlargement of the John Dewey Lecture I was privileged to deliver in Chicago, February 27, 1970, before the members and guests of the John Dewey Society. I am grateful to the officers and members of the Society for the honor of their invitation… More

The Sociological Tradition

Nisbet, Robert A. 1966. The sociological tradition. New York: Basic Books.

Review from Google Book: When first published, The Sociological Tradition had a profound and positive impact on sociology, providing a rich sense of intellectual background to a relatively new discipline in America. Robert Nisbet describes what he considers the golden age of sociology,… More

The Social Philosophers: Community and Conflict in Western Thought

Nisbet, Robert A. 1973. The social philosophers: community and conflict in Western thought. New York: Crowell.

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The Sociology of Emile Durkheim

Nisbet, Robert A. 1974. The sociology of Emile Durkheim. New York: Oxford University Press.

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Twilight of Authority

Nisbet, Robert A. 1975. Twilight of authority. New York: Oxford University Press.

Review on Amazon.com: “We had thought, or our forefathers had, that modern liberal democracy would be spared the kind of erosion and decay that both Plato and Aristotle declared endemic in all forms of state. Now we are not so sure.” So wrote Robert Nisbet in the first edition… More

Sociology as an Art Form

Nisbet, Robert A. 1976. Sociology as an art form. New York: Oxford University Press.

Abstract: The author asserts that sociology is indeed an art form, one that has a strong kinship with literature, painting, Romantic history, and philosophy in the nineteenth century, the age in which sociology came into full stature. He explains the degree to which sociology draws from… More

History of the Idea of Progress

Nisbet, Robert A. 1980. History of the idea of progress. New York: Basic Books.

Review on Amazon: The idea of progress from the Enlightenment to postmodernism is still very much with us. In intellectual discourse, journals, popular magazines, and radio and talk shows, the debate between those who are “progressivists” and those who are… More

Prejudices: a Philosophical Dictionary

Nisbet, Robert A. 1982. Prejudices: a philosophical dictionary. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Review on Amazon: Review All of the qualities of mind for which Nisbet is famous are fully displayed in this marvelous book―his philosophical profundity, his mastery of history, his biting wit, his moral outrage, his uncommon sense. Nisbet’s dictionary will inevitably be compared to… More

The Making of Modern Society

Nisbet, Robert A.1986. The Making of Modern Society. New York: New York University Press.

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Conservatism: Dream and reality

Nisbet, Robert A. 1986. Conservatism: dream and reality. Milton Keynes, England: Open University Press.

Review on Amazon: The essential concerns of conservatism are the same as those that motivated Nisbet’s first and most influential book, The Quest for Community. In fact, Conservatism unites virtually all of Nisbet’s work. In it, Nisbet deals with the political causes of the… More

Roosevelt and Stalin: the Failed Courtship

Nisbet, Robert A. 1988. Roosevelt and Stalin: the failed courtship. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Gateway.

Review on Amazon: Robert Nisbet tells the extraordinary full story of the futile pursuit of American President Franklin Roosevelt for the friendship of Russian leader Josef Stalin. The final chapter reveals the motivations which drove FDR to this peculiar quest. 3 cassettes. Institutional… More

The Present Age: Progress and Anarchy in Modern America

Nisbet, Robert A. 1988. The present age: progress and anarchy in modern America. New York: Harper & Row.

Abstract: The Present Age I The Prevalence Of War Of all faces of the present age in America, the military face would almost certainly prove the most astounding to any Framers of the Constitution, any Founders of the Republic who came back to inspect their creation on the occasion of the… More

Teachers and Scholars: a Memoir of Berkeley in Depression and War

Nisbet, Robert A. 1988. Teachers and Scholars: A Memoir of Berkeley in Depression and War. New Brunswick and London: Transaction publishers.

Review from Amazon.com: The University of California at Berkeley is today best known as a great research center and popularly remembered as a locus of campus unrest in the 1960s. This memoir by the eminent sociologist and historian of ideas Robert Nisbet views Berkeley from a different… More