Description
Book SynopsisDescribing an era of exploration during the Renaissance that went far beyond geographic bounds, this book shows how the evidence of the New World shook the foundations of the old, upsetting the authority of the ancient texts that had guided Europeans so far afield.
Trade ReviewGrafton’s book is about the identity of the Americas—an identity hewn out of intellectual conflict, just as much as military or political conflict. -- David McKitterick * New York Times Book Review *
In his eloquent disquisition…Grafton demonstrates his mastery of the world of the Renaissance text and his skills as a historian of scholarship, scholarly processes, and intellectual debates. -- Larry Ceplair * Los Angeles Times Book Review *
Beautifully presented and delightful to read. Grafton’s prose has a rare combination of qualities, smooth-flowing and hard-hitting… The concentrated power, the broad erudition, the impeccable aim which characterize Grafton’s vignettes are enviable. -- Felipe Fernández-Armesto * London Review of Books *
Grafton is massively erudite and scrupulous as a scholar; at the same time he has command of a relaxed narrative style: his book about the reconfiguration of knowledge in Renaissance Europe is aimed at the general reader and no doubt finds its mark. -- Mary Baine Campbell * Arion *
Table of ContentsForeword by Timothy Healy Introduction 1. A Bound World: The Scholar's Cosmos 2. Navigators and Conquerors: The Universe of the Practical Man 3. All Coherence Gone 4. Drugs and Diseases: New World Biology and Old World Learning 5. A New World of Learning Epilogue Notes Bibliography Illustration Sources Acknowledgments Index
