An engaging, rich in meaning, and concise book by Richard Whatmore, a leading figure in intellectual history in the English-speaking world, provides clear answers to complex questions. Why and how do scholars reconstruct the ideas and worldviews of people from past eras? How closely is this discipline connected to the development of political thought? When does society develop a need for this type of knowledge? The author traces the evolution of the approach from the early efforts of Hume and Montesquieu to recent works by Skinner, Hunt, and Darnton, discusses major discoveries of intellectual historians in the field of early modern political philosophy, and addresses fundamental theoretical questions.