The End of Enlightenment: Empire, Commerce, Crisis

A landmark study of of one of the most controversial periods in history, from an eminent historian

The Enlightenment is popularly seen as the Age of Reason, a key moment in human history when ideals such as freedom, progress, natural rights and constitutional government prevailed. In this radical re-evaluation, historian Richard Whatmore shows why, for many at its center, the Enlightenment was a profound failure.

By the early eighteenth century, hope was widespread that Enlightenment could ...