Thinkers Author:Michael Clay Thompson Michael Clay Thompson has produced an excellent book for teachers and for secondary students in which he highlights people, ideas and books which have made a remarkable contribution to the life of the mind. Thompson carefully explains the importance and significance of each author, work or idea. More importantly, he conveys the intellectual... more » excitement of each contribution. It is spirited and illuminating reading. * Thinkers answers a lot of questions.
* Why should we pay any attention to Stephen Hawkins?
* What is special about George Eliots Middlemarch?
* Should we ask students to read Huck Finn despite its racist language?
* Why would anyone care now about Vasaris Lives of the Artists?
* What is so special about Walt Whitman?
* Why read Scarlet Letter when there is a good movie?
* What really does Carl Sagan have to offer us?
* Why should we ask students to read the more than a century old lectures of A. C. Bradley about Shakespeares tragedies?
* Is there anything to be said for reading Dostoeveskys depressing Crime and Punishment or Sylvia Plaths very depressing The Bell Jar?
* Why would anyone care about Frederick Douglass?
* Does Bill Gates of Microsoft have anything to offer us or is his book just corporate hype?
* What is the importance of Swifts Gullivers Travels?
* What are the major turning points in the history of the mind?« less