The Antiquity of NationsISBN: 978-0-7456-2745-8
Hardcover
280 pages
September 2004, Polity
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Ethnic and Racial Studies
“Brings together seven essays by Anthony D. Smith hitherto
spread among different journals and an edited book. To these are
added two new essays and an excellent introduction ... The essays
have been carefully selected and written to produce a coherent,
unified and cumulative exploration of the importance of the
pre-modern past for the character of modern nations.”
British Journal of Sociology
“Whether you agree with him or not, Anthony D.
Smith’s interpretation of nationalism is a position that no
serious student of the subject can ignore. It is a powerful case
for the historical continuity of much of the national sentiment
that permeates the modern era. The book attacks the "myth of the
modern nation" and explores a range of critical issues, such as the
impact of war on ethnicity and the importance of Romanticism in
shaping many aspects of nationalism. This is a definitive and
elegant demonstration of the ethno-symbolist perspective on one of
the critical forces shaping the contemporary world.”
John Stone, Boston University
“Nationalism has its theoretician: Anthony D. Smith. In
this erudite work, he continues to advance our understanding of
nationalism by rightly recognizing that its theoretical
battleground is the history of nations. Here, the battle is
decisively engaged and won.”
Steven Grosby, Clemson University, South Carolina
“Lucid systematic and scholarly; further confirmation of
the centrality of the author in the analysis of nations and
nationalism.”
David McCrone, University of Edinburgh