
The Hedgehog and the Fox (Second Edition)
An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History
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Narrated by:
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Peter Kenny
This compelling audiobook narrated by Peter Kenny presents Isaiah Berlin's acclaimed essay on Tolstoy and historical understanding.
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." This ancient Greek aphorism, preserved in a fragment from the poet Archilochus, describes the central thesis of Isaiah Berlin's masterly essay on Leo Tolstoy and the philosophy of history, the subject of the epilogue to War and Peace. Although there have been many interpretations of the adage, Berlin uses it to mark a fundamental distinction between human beings who are fascinated by the infinite variety of things and those who relate everything to a central, all-embracing system. Applied to Tolstoy, the saying illuminates a paradox that helps explain his philosophy of history: Tolstoy was a fox, but believed in being a hedgehog. One of Berlin's most celebrated works, this extraordinary essay offers profound insights about Tolstoy, historical understanding, and human psychology.
©2021 Isaiah Berlin (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group, LTDListeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
"So entertaining, as well as acute, that the reader hardly notices that it is learned, too." (Arnold Toynbee, Observer)
"[Berlin] has a deep and subtle feeling for the puzzle of Tolstoy's personality, and he writes throughout...with a wonderful eloquence." (William Barrett, New York Times)
"Beautifully written and suggestive." (W. H. Auden, New Yorker)
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Brilliant discussion of Tolstoy's philosophy
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A fine job with the classic essay
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Easy to understand reader and he had good voice expression.
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On a second level this is a cautionary tale of what goes wrong when people deny their true nature. If you are a fox, it is best to remain a fox and not fall under the spell of hedgehogs who claim to know all the answers.
The Fox Who Tried To Be A Hedgehog
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