This is a short encyclopedia of the most common words used to describe literature, history, and society. Williams tries to be totally precise, giving lots of historical detail to show how all these concepts developed. This book lets you talk about "literature," "culture," and "society" without feeling quiet so uneasy.
Why does Williams always give the word's first appearance in English? Why is language so important? If material things, not ideas, are most important to Marxists, then why is the author so focused on individual words? Is there any sense that a change in a word's meaning changes the world itself?