Edmund Burke: Essential Works and Speeches

In this unique book, Peter J. Stanlis, the leading Burke scholar in America, has collected all the most important works and speeches of Edmund Burke (1729-1797), British statesman, political philosopher, and founder of modern conservative thought and, with due care to preserve the beauty of Burke’s prose, edited them down to their essentials.

The main purpose of these selections, Stanlis explains, is to present extensive and in the main unbroken samples of Burke’s most representative thought in his most characteristic style, on a great variety of subjects.

In this major effort you can find–to name only a few topics covered–Burke’s defense of ordered liberty, his advocacy of secure property rights, his love of Christianity and Europe’s moral tradition, and his impassioned jeremiad against the orgy of destruction that the French Revolution became. Stanlis’s general introduction gives important insight into Burke’s early life, education, professional training, literary and political career, prose style, political philosophy, and more. In addition, each selection is preceded by a headnote that clarifies the selections in their historical context and includes a brief analytical interpretation. A chronology highlights important dates in Burke’s life and career.

In its compactness and comprehensiveness, this volume is the quintessential Burke reader. It will be of interest to historians, political scientists, and students of literature and intellectual history.