Customer Reviews
A Masterpiece cutting through society - By: Bobby Bob Bob, 23 Nov 2008 
This book has an incredibly original take on culture, religion & national politics which attempts to elucidate the foundations upon which today's thought, political rhetoric & beliefs stand.
I will keep this review short & simply say that you do not need a guidebook to take you through his ideas - his writing is clear & compelling. This takes you on a journey through history looking at how ideas of social idealism, utopianism, action, intervention etc. have "developed" (or perhaps "changed" might be a more appropriate term). Implications for today's world are clearin each word, but are drawn out skillfully throughout the book. This should be of interest to anybody interestedin social issues from international/ cultural conflict to language, politics to philosophy.
This is one of the most important texts I've readin years; one that is important to readin order to understand the world, our ideals & our differences - & to problematize them all. A classic which will inform social, historical, philosophical & political theory for the foreseeable future.
The devastating effects of utopian thinking - By: Johan Martensson, 21 Oct 2008 Gray credibly describes how different modern apocalyptic movements like jacobinism, bolshevism, nazism & neo-conservatism are true heirs to the enlightenment, & that the enlightenment itself is secular version of the Christian theory of history. But where orthodox Christianity teaches that the goal of history is a trancendent utopia that can only come about by the power of God the enlightenment strives for a man made utopia that will be realizedin human history. The problem with this is that since utopia is not realizable, the modern utopian will have recourse to totalitarian meansin a desperate attempt to perform the impossible.
Hysterical and reactionary - By: D. J. Forbes, 11 Aug 2008 
Gray's latest diatribe against the west is built on the muddled head theory that because the Enlightenment aimed to improve the lot of humanity it must therefore be 'utopian', & therefore religiousin nature.
The fact that the Enlightenment met considerable opposition from religion - & still doesin many parts of the world - escapes Gray's notice.
For Gray, everything is black & white. If the world can't be mede perfect it cannot be improved & there's no point trying.
He's like a spoilt child ranting about being given the wrong birthday present so he doesn't want anything.
Roger Scruton does this better, & funnier.
Rewarding but flawed - By: Lee, 25 May 2008 
I picked this book up having been recommended the authors previous effort "Straw Dogs" by a college. Though I haven't read straw dogs, I was attracted by the discussion of Utopia.
The book is well written & most of the central ideas of Utopia, Religious Apocalyptic History & political ideals are communicated well. The author takes time to develop his ideas & provides well drawn examples supporting his interpretation. In particular, his discussion on the USA's use of "facts"in certain ways to justify means is very interesting & entertaining. In addition to this, the book is enjoyablein that regardless of whether or not you agree with the authors conclusions, he is certainly not overly dogmatic.
For me, what stood out was the books willingness to engage with the reader & get them to think. It is a book that asks many questions, more than it answers & really got me thinking about how to interpret history. For me, though the factual / historical focus of the earlier chapters was hugely entertaining, the final chapter was probably the most engaging. While I disagreed with certain aspects of it, that the author took the time to make conclusions that actually derived from his discussion, rather than simply being a restatement of what he thought, was particularly interesting & rewarding.
My criticism of the book would be that some liberties with interpretation are given. The author is prone to oversimplifying ideas for the sake of expediency & on one or two occasions this seemed to me to be slightly misleading. For example, one of his descriptions of Aristotle's thought is far too reductive to do justice to Aristotle's thought. However, I understand that this was for obvious reasons concerning the flow of the book.
Allin all, a very entertaining & thought provoking read which takes time & effort to engage the reader, & I would heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest interestedin the world & our interpretation of it.
DD
Difficult, but gripping. - By: Mr. N. T. Baxter, 20 May 2008 I found this book extremely interesting although sometimes it was quite heavy going. The book looks at how the idea of a perfect world/state developed as an unachievable ideal, & how the attempts to realise itin later times have caused so much suffering & painin the world but have achieved so little. Whether communism, Nazism or the current American Christian model of a world of democratic capitalist nations all attempts to remodel the world have endedin disaster.
This utopian thinking has a resonance for all of us, I think. It's easy to believe we can reach a state of perfectionin our personal or professional lives where we will be happy & livein harmony, but our very natures make this impossible. We are always reaching for something - it's human nature - utopia for ourselves & for society as a whole is unachievable & we would do better to take a more pragmatic approach to the world's problems.
The other thing I got from this book was the idea that human beings are not rational creatures, nor are we going to become soin the future. We will always fight, compete, envy & believein things we cannot possibly know. That is what it is to be human. Most of the decisions/beliefs of most of the people of the world are made & held because of emotion, belief, culture & the influence of others; not through rational analysis. There is no point attempting to develop conceptions of a better world that do not take this into account at their very core.
On the down side, this book was heavy going at times, & a little too focused on the recent Iraq war later onin the book. However, I'd certainly recommend it.
