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In "Books that Changed the World" Andrew Taylor sets himself the challenging task of choosing and profiling the fifty most important and influential books in the history of the world. He has selected books from every field of human creativity and intellectual endeavour - from poetry to politics, from fiction to philosophy, from theology to anthropology, and from economics to physics - to create a rounded and satisfying picture of how 50 towering achievements of the human intellect have built our societies, shaped our values, enhanced our understanding of the nature of the world, enabled technological advancements, and reflected our concerns and dilemmas, strengths and failings. In a series of engaging and lively essays, Andrew Taylor sets each work and its author firmly in historical context, summarizes the content of the work in question, and explores its wider influence and legacy. A fascinating and richly informative read, and a clarion call to delve deeper into the library of great books, "Books that Changed the World" is a thought-provoking and stimulating read, and the likely cause of many an impassioned debate.
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In Books that Changed the World Andrew Taylor sets himself the challenging task of choosing and profiling the 50 most important and influential books in the history of the world. He has selected works from every field of human creativity and intellectual endeavour - from poetry to politics, from fiction to philosophy, from theology to anthropology, and from economics to physics - to create a rounded and satisfying picture of how 50 towering achievements of the human intellect have built our societies, shaped our values, enhanced our understanding of the nature of the world, enabled technological advancements, and reflected our concerns and dilemmas, strengths and failings.
Can books really change the world? The pen may boast of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the sword that wins the first round. It is that phrase, though, which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can be bullied, imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their books burned, but over the long sweep of history, it is books and the ideas expressed within them that have transformed society. Universal availability of the Bible in cheap vernacular editions presaged a political and social revolution in Europe as ordinary people began to question religious authority for the first time. The publication in 1623 of Shakespeare's First Folio allowed many generations to enjoy tragedies and comedies that might otherwise have been lost or forgotten. Eighteenth-century tracts such as Thomas Paine's Common Sense gave voice to a newly emancipated revolutionary consciousness, while modern propagandistic screeds such as Mao Zedong's Little Red Book have contributed to the oppression of entire nations.
In a series of engaging and lively essays, Andrew Taylor sets each book and its author firmly in historical context, summarizes the content of the work in question, and explores its wider influence and legacy. A fascinating and richly informative read, and a clarion call to delve deeper into the library of great works, Books that Changed the World is a thought-provoking and stimulation read, and the likely cause of many an impassioned debate.
Can books really change the world? The pen may boast of being mightier than the sword, but it is generally the sword that wins the first round. It is that phrase, though, which gives the game away: in the short term, writers can be bullied, imprisoned or executed, their work censored, and their books burned, but over the long sweep of history, it is books and the ideas expressed within them that have transformed society. Universal availability of the Bible in cheap vernacular editions presaged a political and social revolution in Europe as ordinary people began to question religious authority for the first time. The publication in 1623 of Shakespeare's First Folio allowed many generations to enjoy tragedies and comedies that might otherwise have been lost or forgotten. Eighteenth-century tracts such as Thomas Paine's Common Sense gave voice to a newly emancipated revolutionary consciousness, while modern propagandistic screeds such as Mao Zedong's Little Red Book have contributed to the oppression of entire nations.
In a series of engaging and lively essays, Andrew Taylor sets each book and its author firmly in historical context, summarizes the content of the work in question, and explores its wider influence and legacy. A fascinating and richly informative read, and a clarion call to delve deeper into the library of great works, Books that Changed the World is a thought-provoking and stimulation read, and the likely cause of many an impassioned debate.
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