A fascinating, insightful and concise book by Richard Watmore, a leading exponent of intellectual history in the English-speaking world, provides clear answers to complex questions. Why and how do scientists reconstruct the ideas and worldviews of people of bygone eras? How closely is this discipline related to the development of political thought? When does the public need for this type of knowledge arise? The author traces the evolution of the approach from the first experiments of Hume and Montesquieu to the recent works of Skinner, Hont or Darnton, talks about the great discoveries of intellectual historians in the field of modern political philosophy and answers basic theoretical questions. Watmore shows how philosophical, scientific, political, religious and artistic ideas are born and shaped in various historical contexts, and then themselves directly influence the development of society and people's decisions. Introducing the reader to the current state of intellectual history, the scholar offers his own, accessible and compelling definition of the boundaries of this discipline. Richard Watmore is Professor of Modern History and Director of the Institute of Intellectual History at the University of St Andrews.