Alan Ryan's provocative introduction lays out the central issues debated by John Stuart Mill's many interpreters; in addition, it assesses Mill's historical significance and provides a brief account of his life. In recent years, scholars have increasingly focused on the connection between On Liberty and Mill's other writings. This Norton Critical Edition brings together three major essays that illustrate Mill's liberal political philosophy over the course of his life: "The Spirit of the Age" (1831), On Liberty (1859), and The Subjection of Women (1869). Related excerpts from John Stuart Mill's Autobiography (1873, published posthumously) are also included. Each text is accompanied by explanatory annotations.

"Commentary" collects seven major assessments of Mill's writings. The contemporary perspectives of R. H. Hutton and James Fitzjames Stephen and the more recent analyses of Isaiah Berlin, Gertrude Himmelfarb, John C. Rees, Jeremy Waldron, and Susan Moller Okin provide readers with a critical overview of one of the most important of modern political philosophers.

A Selected Bibliography and an Index are included.