A clear, academically grounded entry point into Foucault that doesn’t flatten him into slogan.

McNay traces the movement of his thought—from early work on knowledge and discourse through to power, discipline, and the later turn toward ethics—while keeping a critical distance from the internal tensions of the project. The structure is clean, but it doesn’t pretend coherence where there isn’t any.

McNay situates Foucault within broader debates in social and political theory, and is attentive to the limits of his framework, particularly around agency and subjectivity. It reads less like a primer and more like a guided argument about why he still matters—and where he falls short.

Polity Press paperback, later reprint (originally published 1994; this printing c.2007). Very good copy with light handling wear; minor cover marks, internally clean.