Neill (Oxford U., UK) presents the life and ideas of British conservative political theorist Michael Oakeshott (1901-1990). He outlines Oakeshott"s career, including his academic work and published and unpublished writings, then discusses how his ideas evolved over the course of the twentieth century, and his influence in the fields of the history of ideas, the philosophy of history, and political philosophy. He examines the difficulty in unifying Oakeshott"s ideas; those about the rise of individualism in Western Europe, modernity and postmodernity, Enlightenment rationalism, and theorizing about practices; and his works Experience and Its Modes, Rationalism in Politics, On Human Conduct, and On History, in addition to his reception and continuing relevance. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)