About this item
Highlights
- Peter Watson's hugely ambitious and stimulating history of ideas from deep antiquity to the present day—from the invention of writing, mathematics, science, and philosophy to the rise of such concepts as the law, sacrifice, democracy, and the soul—offers an illuminated path to a greater understanding of our world and ourselves.
- Author(s): Peter Watson
- 852 Pages
- History, World
Description
Book Synopsis
Peter Watson's hugely ambitious and stimulating history of ideas from deep antiquity to the present day—from the invention of writing, mathematics, science, and philosophy to the rise of such concepts as the law, sacrifice, democracy, and the soul—offers an illuminated path to a greater understanding of our world and ourselves.
Review Quotes
"This is a grand book...The history of ideas deserves treatment on this scale." -- Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Evening Standard (London)
"A superior specimen, with numerous interesting factoids...thought-provoking short essays." -- John Derbyshire, New York Sun
"A masterpiece of historical writing." -- John Gray, Professor of European Thought, London School of Economics, New Statesman
"[An] extraordinary new book....This is the history of 'ideas' as it has never been presented before." -- Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph (London)