The German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution and the Twentieth Century - Couverture rigide

Watson, Peter

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0743285530 ISBN 13 : 9780743285537

Editeur : Simon & Schuster, 2010

Synopsis

Used book

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

“A compilation of essential German contributions to philosophy, theology, mathematics, natural and social science and the arts since 1750. Watson enshrines a vast pantheon of creative thinkers... [including] compressed summaries of some exceedingly difficult ideas. The range of subjects is impressive, from painters to physicists.” (New York Times Book Review)

“[The German Genius is] Watson’s eight-hundred-and-fifty-page love letter to the all-stars of the Teutonic intellect...his élan generates its own momentum... The book’s breadth is part of the point.” (The New Yorker)

“[An] engrossing, vast chronicle. . . . English now dominates the arts and sciences, but Watson writes an absorbing account of a time not so long ago when German ruled.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“Reveals several surprises. . . . A remarkable book on many levels. The research is first-rate and it is surprisingly accessible.” (Tucson Citizen)

“A tour de force. . . . It is impossible not to be impressed by his range and versatility as he bounds across the disciplines. . . . This intelligent book presents a breathtaking panorama.” (Sunday Times (London))

“[A] colossal encyclopaedia. . . . Heroic. . . . Watson derives the German genius from deep springs.” (The Guardian)

“Watson’s book is intended to subvert the negative German stereotypes. Though it checks in at just short of 1,000 pages, it is a usefully concise introduction to the principal themes and personalities of German scientific, philosophical, social, literary and artistic culture since 1750.” (The Times (London))

“Few wasted words—a welcome resource for students of modern history, literature and cultural studies.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Watson tells how the Nazis’ first artistic blacklist appeared just six weeks after Hitler assumed power in 1933 - and how his catastrophic handling of his intellectual inheritance has unfairly overshadowed the country ever since. This exhaustive and virtuoso sweep through history goes some way to restoring the balance.” (Press Association)

“The German Genius present a huge corpus of scholarship in easily digestible form, and its range is astonishing. No professor, least of all a German one, would have dared to essay such a synthesis; so much the worse for the professors.” (Standpoint)

Présentation de l'éditeur :

From the end of the Baroque age and the death of Bach in 1750 to the rise of Hitler in 1933, Germany was transformed from a poor relation among western nations into a dominant intellectual and cultural force more influential than France, Britain, Italy, Holland, and the United States. In the early decades of the 20th century, German artists, writers, philosophers, scientists, and engineers were leading their freshly-unified country to new and undreamed of heights, and by 1933, they had won more Nobel prizes than anyone else and more than the British and Americans combined. But this genius was cut down in its prime with the rise and subsequent fall of Adolf Hitler and his fascist Third Reich-a legacy of evil that has overshadowed the nation's contributions ever since.
Yet how did the Germans achieve their pre-eminence beginning in the mid-18th century? In this fascinating cultural history, Peter Watson goes back through time to explore the origins of the German genius, how it flourished and shaped our lives, and, most importantly, to reveal how it continues to shape our world. As he convincingly demonstarates, while we may hold other European cultures in higher esteem, it was German thinking-from Bach to Nietzsche to Freud-that actually shaped modern America and Britain in ways that resonate today.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Simon & Schuster
• Date d'édition: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0743285530
• ISBN 13: 9780743285537
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 992