The Contempt of Freedom: The Russian Experiment and After

First edition, first impression.  x, 116pp.  Blue cloth-covered boards with deep blue titles on spine.  12mo. Cloth is dull to faded, heavily sunned over spine, a little rubbed at corners and spine ends.  Text lock edges a little toned.  An ex-university library copy with usual markings on front endpapers, small stamp and minor annotations on the copyright page (no other library markings).  Some internal toning and faint and occasional spotting especially on first and last few leaves else neat, clean and tight.  Firmly and squarely bound.  

Michael Polanyi (died 1976) was a British polymath and Professor of Social Sciences at Manchester University who made influential contributions in the fields of physical chemistry, economics and philosophy. One of his children and two of his students won a Nobel Prize.  One of his major works, Contempt of Freedom contains four articles and essays (the majority previously published individually) which in short argue that science and scientific research require scientists to have academic freedom to flourish and benefit; crafted in reaction to the centrally planned agenda for scientific research imposed within the Soviet Union – including, later, his native Hungary.  An important text and very hard to find in its original edition.