This is a great book, I'm tempted to give it 5 stars but for the fact that what I found to be the most interesting parts--the critiques of Weberian and Durkheimian sociology, and of Marx/Marxism from a Hegelian perspective--were underdeveloped. The title of the book is, in fact, a bit misleading, since the bulk of the book is devoted to a defense and exposition of Hegel's thought, with particular focus on some of the early and unpublished (by Hegel) lectures/writings, on the Phenomenology, and the greater Logic.

As a commentary on these texts, Rose is very capable, often intervening in debates of Hegel interpretation without making it explicit that that is what she's doing. This is certainly not a book for those who are reading Hegel for the first time, and presumes a familiarity not just with Hegel, but also with Kant, Fichte, Marx, and a basic familiarity with the Durkheim/Weber strands of sociology.

The concluding chapter dealing with Marx, and taking him to task for vacillating between a Hegelian and pre-Hegelian standpoint, is contentious but I found it pretty persuasive. Rose may not be entirely fair to the nuance of Marx's thought, but I think she is basically right. ( )