- Paperback: 181 pages
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press; New Ed edition (30 July 1993)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0521457300
- ISBN-13: 978-0521457309
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.7 x 1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
32,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #90 in Books > Science & Nature > History & Philosophy > Reference
- #99 in Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Academic Philosophy
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Review
'One cannot fail to take Snow seriously or to recognise his commitment to the cause of peace, intelligent action and human betterment.' Scientific American
'Obvious authority and moral intelligence.' The New Yorker
'Effective because of its obvious generosity of mind and basic sanity.' The Sunday Times
'Professor Collini's brilliant and well documented introduction …' D. Anjaneyulu, The Hindu
'Obvious authority and moral intelligence.' The New Yorker
'Effective because of its obvious generosity of mind and basic sanity.' The Sunday Times
'Professor Collini's brilliant and well documented introduction …' D. Anjaneyulu, The Hindu
Product Description
The notion that our society, its education system and its intellectual life, is characterised by a split between two cultures – the arts or humanities on one hand, and the sciences on the other – has a long history. But it was C. P. Snow's Rede lecture of 1959 that brought it to prominence and began a public debate that is still raging in the media today. This 50th anniversary printing of The Two Cultures and its successor piece, A Second Look (in which Snow responded to the controversy four years later) features an introduction by Stefan Collini, charting the history and context of the debate, its implications and its afterlife. The importance of science and technology in policy run largely by non-scientists, the future for education and research, and the problem of fragmentation threatening hopes for a common culture are just some of the subjects discussed.
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It is about three years since I made a sketch in print of a problem which had been on my mind for some time. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It is about three years since I made a sketch in print of a problem which had been on my mind for some time. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After a scientific career that ended in dishonour, C. P. Snow turned to writing and became a very successful (but hardly great) novelist. Snow used his experience of the scientific and literary worlds in developing his most famous argument of the existence of two mutually largely exclusive cultures in academia. Stefan Collini's introduction to C. P. Snow's classic lecture is invaluable, placing it in the context of the broader 'culture wars' of the Modern era. Snow was clearly on the side of the industrial-scientific revolution, and although he was a successful novelist, he clearly felt scientific ignorance was far worse than ignorance of the arts. This invited strong opposition from conservative critics of the emerging mass society, which placed a far higher premium on developing technical skills than human graces. 'The Two Cultures' thus drew a famously vitriolic attack from the literary critic F. R. Leavis who, amongst other things, characterized Snow as an 'intellectual nullity'. The clash was one in a series of battles since the Industrial Revolution, including 'the Romantic versus the Utilitarian, Coleridge versus Bentham, Arnold versus Huxley' (p. xxxv), and others.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
16 reviews
81 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Snow compares scientists and literary intellectuals.
24 July 1997
Format:Paperback
In today's society, Liberal Arts people call scientists "nerds." Scientists call liberal arts people "fuzzies" or "bohemians." Both hold misconceptions about each other that are sometimes true and sometimes not. This classic book talks about and tries to promote cooperation between these "two cultures." Writing about his experience as a person trained in science but pursuing a writing career, Snow precisely identifies the problems of the two cultures miscommunicating with each other. It was written in the late 1950s, in Britain, so the American reader might not understand all the references. Still, Snow's work has influenced a wide range of contemporary thinkers, and has been in no small part an influence on the "writing across the curriculum" movement in American universities. Whether you are interested in the humanities or the sciences, this book clearly will show you the tensions you will face dealing with the "other culture," and the problems such stereotypes pose for mod
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
historic document, with intro essay
24 Oct 2004
Format:Paperback
The Two Cultures is probably more famous as an idea which ignited discussion than as the lecture it is. This edition of C.P. Snow's classic includes a brilliant introduction by Stefan Collini. I'm surprised that none of the other reviewers mention this portion of the edition, a substantial 64 pages, because for me it was the most interesting read. That is, only after having read The Two Cultures and a follow-up essay by Snow and pondered what may still apply today in his argument I went back and read the Collini. His introduction put Snow's work in its proper historical contexts (those of post-war Britain as well as Snow's own life) and updates us with some of the major points of the historical discourse that followed. I recommend that Collini's essay is read after Snow's, and together they make a very fine read.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Only Essential Reading
16 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback
This book defines the irrational and dangerous gulf that divides our artistic-intellectual community from our scientific. Its first publication was explosive, its effect historic. Written with the grace of a major novelist and the elegance of pure scientist, it was, and is, an original. A true original. Of how many books can one say, "It changed the way we think?" This single, short book did exactly that. It does that still.
Let's call it a must read.
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