R. G. Collingwood was one of the last of the great polymaths; his range of interests was truly remarkable. He is largely remembered for his philosophy of history and his aesthetics, but he also wrote extensively on religion, philosophical method, conceptions of nature, political philosophy, metaphysics, ethics--and fairy tales. As pastimes he composed music, played the piano and the violin, painted, did woodwork and bookbinding, and sailed. Archaeology is often described as another of his hobbies, but this characterization undervalues his contributions to the field: he was the world's leading authority on Roman inscriptions in Britain and was consulted by museums for advice on their collections. Before he became Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the University of Oxford, he was a university lecturer there in both philosophy and Roman history. He published hundreds of journal articles on archaeology, as well as several book-length surveys that became immensely...