A Tolerable Anarchy: Rebels, Reactionaries, and the Making of American Freedom - Rilegato

“[An] erudite, topical, thought-provoking exploration of the history of what it means to be free in America . . . Purdy is a marvelous intellectual historian, and his narrative elegantly explores shifting trends in American thought . . . His analysis is bracing . . . An important contribution to American intellectual history.”
–Chuck Leddy, The Christian Science Monitor

“[A] philosophically cast meditation that . . . grapples with the paradox of American individualism . . . [Purdy] cautions that our idea of freedom is deceptively simple, requiring both restraint and engagement from government, and autonomy and interdependence in civic affairs.”
–Art Winslow, The Los Angeles Times

“[An] insightful treatise . . . Introspective and optimistic.”
–Library Journal

“[A] page-turning history of American freedom.”
–Cliff Bellamy, Fayetteville Observer-Times

“Brilliant . . . Erudite but straightforward and packed with insights . . . A tour de force of engaged political philosophy from one of America’s most perceptive public intellectuals.”
–Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“For a sapient citizenry and a new administration, a graduate-level seminar on a civic philosophy that reminds us, ‘Freedom is not just where you end up but also how you get there.’”
–Kirkus

“Purdy has emerged as one of America's most promising young public intellectuals. This beautifully written book confirms his place. Rich in the history he tells, and brilliant in its insight, the book will change how you think about America, and the challenge we face for its future.”
-- Lawrence Lessig, founder of Creative Commons and author of Free Culture

"America has always struggled to define freedom–a struggle that has involved everything from slavery in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, to the cultural ferment of the 1960s, and the free-wheeling capitalism of the 1980s and 1990s. In this thoughtful and engaging history of ideas, Jedediah Purdy vividly recounts this multifaceted debate and illuminates how the idea of freedom is still evolving. Here is an essential book for understanding the idea of freedom in America and the role of government in our lives."
–Robert B. Reich, author of Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life

Jedediah Purdy teaches law at Duke University and has also taught at Yale and Harvard. Purdy is the author of For Common Things: Irony, Trust, and Commitment in America Today and Being America: Liberty, Commerce, and Violence in an American World, and has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times, Democracy, and other publications.