The Essential Leviathan

Essential Leviathan is a translation of Hobbes' work, due to the fact that certain words and grammar have been altered to make the text more approachable. This 'translation' is very good: it makes the text highly accessible, certainly for the first time reader, but achieves this without jeopardizing original spirit or meaning. . . . Stanlick and Collette make up for a short introduction with a wealth of supporting footnotes, which give much needed information and clarification. This method has immediate benefits: it allows for the student to learn the background and context of Leviathan as they read through the text. . . . The footnotes on the intellectual context of Leviathan are particularly well done: they are both extensive and informative, and effectively enlighten the reader to the philosophical issues Hobbes was addressing. . . . [E]xcellent chapter introductions . . . effectively make the purpose of each individual chapter clearer, and link the arguments of different chapters together. . . . Educators . . . will certainly welcome Stanlick and Colette's modernized edition; it is a work which successfully makes Hobbes' arguments clear, approachable, and most importantly, relevant to the Twenty-First Century reader, whilst simultaneously maintaining the spirit and beauty of Hobbes' original text. Ruairidh J Brown, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, in Hobbes Studies