Iain Hampsher-Monk's lucid and accessible history of modern political thought is the introduction which many have been waiting for, providing a thorough guide to the ideas and writings of major political thinkers from Hobbes to Marx (including a full account of The Federalist papers).The author's aim throughout is to incorporate the benefits of modern scholarship of the historical school, with its emphasis on historical and political circumstances as a key to meaning. Recognizing that for most students time will not allow detailed study of the historical and political contexts of particular works, Hampsher-Monk provides here the background necessary for the readers to situate the writings of key thinkers in relation to wider currents in intellectual and political history.