Description
Book SynopsisPhilosophy in the late 17th century was a dangerous business. No careerist could afford to know the reclusive philosopher Baruch de Spinoza. Gottfried Leibniz became obsessed with Spinoza's writings and called on Spinoza in person at his home. This work is a philosophical romance of attraction and repulsion, greed and virtue, religion and heresy.
Trade Review"'... gripping... the best current untechnical introduction to the lives and philosophies of the two men. Stewart does it in very agreeable prose, and what he says rests on a sound bottom of historical and philosophical scholarship, so lightly worn that one is not conscious of the skill that has gone into making the epoch and its seminal ideas accessible. The result is a thoroughly good book, hard to put down for anyone interested in the great story of the Western intellectual tradition.' A C Grayling, Literary Review 'Stewart lays the ground for a new genre: rigorous, readable intellectual history for the reader who would never buy a work of pure philosophy, but wants to know why people think the way they do.' The Economist 'Stewart has written an elegant and erudite book about these two antithetical yet related figures... superbly elegant and intelligent prose' Edward Skidelsky, The Saturday Telegraph 'A sprightly and enlightening biography... this is an exhilaratingly epic canvas. The philosophy of creation and substance might sound like hard going, but Stewart's writing has huge panache... philosophy exuberantly rooted in history, grabbing you by the lapels and making sure that you know why you are being dragged round the backstreets of The Hague and up the front of the Leineschloss in Hanover. You will not regret the visits.' - Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Guardian 'For the most part, all philosophers have to worry about today is boring their audience. This is certainly not a problem for Matthew Stewart's book... a compelling adventure.' Nicholas Fearne, The Independent"
