by Michael J. Sandel (Author, Reader)

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard government professor Sandel (Public Philosophy) dazzles in this sweeping survey of hot topics—the recent government bailouts, the draft, surrogate pregnancies, same-sex marriage, immigration reform and reparations for slavery—that situates various sides in the debates in the context of timeless philosophical questions and movements. Sandel takes utilitarianism, Kant's categorical imperative and Rawls's theory of justice out of the classroom, dusts them off and reveals how crucial these theories have been in the construction of Western societies—and how they inform almost every issue at the center of our modern-day polis. The content is dense but elegantly presented, and Sandel has a rare gift for making complex issues comprehensible, even entertaining (see his sections entitled Shakespeare versus the Simpsons and What Ethics Can Learn from Jack Benny and Miss Manners), without compromising their gravity. With exegeses of Winnie the Pooh, transcripts of Bill Clinton's impeachment hearing and the works of almost every major political philosopher, Sandel reveals how even our most knee-jerk responses bespeak our personal conceptions of the rights and obligations of the individual and society at large. Erudite, conversational and deeply humane, this is truly transformative reading. (Oct.)

From The Washington Post

philosophy prof as TV star: Not many thinkers can pull that off, but Michael Sandel has taken his courses on political philosophy from the halls of Harvard to the nation's small screens, courtesy of PBS. Sandel's appeal lies partly in the striking hypotheticals he throws out, such as whether it's okay to kill one person directly (on an overloaded lifeboat, for example) to save three others; and partly in the way he makes good use of even rambling responses by the students he calls upon. He also discusses thorny issues with clarity, insight and a broad range of references -- traits on display in his new book. In a chapter on equality, Sandel addresses a question raised by the philosopher John Rawls: whether we should settle for a system in which "the average schoolteacher . . . makes about $43,000 a year [while] David Letterman . . . earns $31 million a year." After summarizing Rawls's observations about the many contingencies affecting how one's talents match (or do not) the needs of the society in which one lives, Sandel brings the discussion down to Earth by quoting from Woody Allen's movie "Stardust Memories." The much wealthier and more famous character played by Allen defends his celebrityhood to an old friend, now a cabbie, by saying: "If I had been an Apache Indian, those guys didn't need comedians at all, right? So I'd be out of work." The cabbie, however, gets the last word: "Oh, come on, that doesn't help me feel any better."