Book summary

For a tiny island, England has always exercised an inordinately strong influence over the culture, politics, and imaginations of Europeans and Americans. This book traces that influence through the lives of some of its most distinguished vessels--Goethe, Voltaire, Marx, and Isaiah Berlin all appear in this book as devotees of the uniquely British blend of enlightenment-based liberal politics and snobbily stratified class structures. A New York Times Notable Book in 1999.