Books by A. Macfarlane

Maitland (1850-1906) was more than the greatest professional historian of modern times, he was a philosopher who provides a brilliant sketch of how our strange world has come about, particularly in his work on associations and trusts.

This study of four great thinkers who lived between 1689 and 1995, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, De Tocqueville, and Ernest Gellner, weaves their lives and works together and through their own words shows how they approached the question of the nature of man, his past and his future.

Through a detailed comparative analysis of English and Japanese history it explores such matters as the destruction of war, decline of famine, importance of certain drinks (especially tea), the use of human excrement and the effects of housing, clothing and bathing on human health.