*Liberal Worlds: James Bryce and the Democratic Intellect*

By H.S. Jones, an excellent book.  For all the resurgence of interest in government and its problems, Bryce has received remarkably little attention.  But his theory of low-quality, careerist politcians, combined with imperfectly informed voters, seems highly relevant to our current day.  Public opinion is slow, and largely reactive, but potent once mobilized.  Leadership can truly matter, and he stresses national character and civic education.  In other words, Bryce’s The American Commonwealth is a book still worth reading.

I had not known that Bryce was born in Belfast, or that he was so opposed to women’s suffrage.  Or that he was so interested in Armenia, climbed Mount Ararat, and was fascinated by the inevitability of interracial marriage and its consequences (no, not in the usual racist way).  He was an expert on Roman law.

Recommended, and also very well written.