In the book The Enlightenment: A Genealogy, Dan Edelstein attempts to discuss both the historical and philosophical areas of the Enlightenment. In the book Edelstein discusses the fundamental meanings of the Enlightenment, its historical significance, and how the Enlightenment spread in Europe between 1680 and 1740. Alternatively, in Gertrude Himmelfarb's book, Roads to Modernity, the author compares the different forms of Enlightenment that occurred across Europe in the same period. Edelstein's book, while advertised differently, is based more on historical fact than philosophical debate, which Edelstein says he intends to do. However, the Himmelfarb manages to succeed in the areas where the Edelstein is lacking. Therefore, reading Himmelfarb takes a unique approach to the Enlightenment by leaving the French perspective as something of an afterthought and primarily discussing the English form of Enlightenment. He argues that the origins of the Enlightenment date back to the eighteenth century, starting with Lord Shaftesbury's essay Inquiry Concerning Virtue or Merit. In this essay, Shaftesbury argues that all creatures have a “social affection” and moral sense toward one another, creating a basis for the Enlightenment to evolve. Himmelfarb also discusses other influential works such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Edmund Burke's “Counter-Enlightenment.” The author then spends a short time, not even two chapters, discussing the French and American Enlightenment denouncing France for its supposed extremes and contradictions, and admiring the Americans for imitating the Enlightenment. He argued his points well and provided relevant and necessary historical meaning. Dan Edelstein is a professor of French at Stanford University in California, specializing in 18th-century France. He received his PhD. from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, and has since written numerous books on the topic of the Enlightenment and 18th-century France. Alternatively, Gertrude Himmelfarb received her doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1950 and has been writing about the British and Victorian eras for over fifty years. Himmelfarb has numerous accomplishments, including serving on the Council of Scholars of the Library of Congress, the Council of Academic Advisors of the American Enterprise Institute, and the Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Both authors, Edelstein and Himmelfarb, are both incredible historians and true masters in their fields of study. Separately, The Enlightenment: A Genealogy and The Roads to Modernity are both honorable books regarding the Enlightenment, both written by accomplished historians. But by reading these two books together, the reader is able to fill in the areas where the author falls short and ultimately gives the reader a complete and valuable look at the context.