Scholarship going nowhere

Book review of On Nationalism

There is a sense of anachrony in writing this review for two reasons. First, this is not a new book.  It is not even a book as contemplated by the author.  The noted Marxist historian Professor Eric Hobsbawm is now dead for close to 10 years.  What we have here is a collection of extracts from one lecture and 22 Hobsbawm books, columns and pamphlets, with a fine introduction by his friend, Donald Sassoon, who also edited the volume.  While Professor Hobsbawm was greatly concerned about nationalism and its various aspects, we do not know if he wanted to address