Week 4_2/6/2016_Philosophy and Politics

     The book that I chose is called Political Concepts by Richard Bellamy and Andrew Mason. As I found myself wandering through the fifth floor of the library for over 10 minutes, I saw this particular book out of the corner of my eye and decided that it was the one. It is a normal sized book with a hard cover and interesting cover picture. According to the back of the book, this picture shows a detail of Allegory of good government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti (c. 1285-1348) from the Palazzo Pubblico, Sienna. It depicts figures of contemporary Sienna and citizens, but there are also other historic symbols within the picture. There also appears to be Latin writing within the image, if not Latin then another old and most likely dead language. On the back cover there is also a small logo for the Manchester University Press. It is of normal size, about 9 1/2 inches long x 6 1/4 inches wide by 1 1/4 inches thick. The Margins are very small with a Photina typeset, and it seems like a fairly challenging read at 223 pages. Divided into seventeen chapters, the book starts with a short introduction and boasts a very detailed bibliography at the end. It does not contain any illustrations, and seems to be a very philosophical and informative book.

      I postulate that the intended audience for this book includes students studying political science and current or former politicians.  It even says on the back cover, "This book is perfect for students of political theory and political ideology, and indeed for anyone approaching political theory for the first time." Given that it is an advanced read because of the large vocabulary and tremendous detail about the subject of politics, I don't expect an average non-fiction reader to pick this one up 'just for fun.' Don't get me wrong, there are certain audiences in non-fiction who appreciate heavy philosophical topics such as political theory, however based on what I have learned about this book, I would assume that the readers of this particular book are required to read it for academic purposes rather than just for recreational reading. There are footnotes, introductions and definitions on almost every page, and it is almost written like a textbook. In fact, chapter 9 is all about the subject of democracy, featuring scholarly contributors and seeming like the equivalent of what one would read in an expensive political science textbook. The academic backgrounds of the publisher and authors also clearly indicate that they are writing to an educated audience that seeks to expand their knowledge on the topic. It also adds a large appeal to ethos, as the credibility of the authors has made the book quite popular. Richard Bellamy is Professor of Government at the University of Essex, and Andrew Mason is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Southampton. Most of the content deals with philosophical political principles from history and analyzing political theories. Overall, given the appearance, length, genre and difficulty of the book, I conclude that it is intended for an educated audience with a political background or future.

Bellamy, Richard and Andrew Mason. Political Concepts. Manchester, United Kingdom: Manchester University Press, 2003. Print.

(JA 66 .P614 2003)