Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw Descartes' bones traverse a continent, passing between kings, philosophers, poets, and painters.
But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes' bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in history, which are also part of the philosopher's metaphorical remains: the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates between reason and faith. Descartes' Bones is a flesh-and-blood story about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this day. A New York Times Notable Book

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

History

Shorto, Russell

World

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

An endlessly entertaining portrait of the city of Amsterdam and the ideas that make it unique, by the author of the acclaimed Island at the Center of the World Tourists know Amsterdam as a picturesque city of low-slung brick houses lining tidy canals; student travelers know it for its legal brothels and hash bars; art lovers know it for Rembrandt's glorious portraits. But the deeper history of Amsterdam, what makes it one of the most fascinating places on earth, is bound up in its unique geography-the constant battle of its citizens to keep the sea at bay and the democratic philosophy that this enduring struggle fostered. Amsterdam is the font of liberalism, in both its senses. Tolerance for free thinking and free love make it a place where, in the words of one of its mayors, "craziness is a value." But the city also fostered the deeper meaning of liberalism, one that profoundly influenced America: political and economic freedom. Amsterdam was home not only to religious dissidents and radical thinkers but to the world's first great global corporation. In this effortlessly erudite account, Russell Shorto traces the idiosyncratic evolution of Amsterdam, showing how such disparate elements as herring anatomy, naked Anabaptists parading through the streets, and an intimate gathering in a sixteenth-century wine-tasting room had a profound effect on Dutch-and world-history. Weaving in his own experiences of his adopted home, Shorto provides an ever-surprising, intellectually engaging story of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City

Europe

Vintage

Gospel Truth

Hodder&Stoughton Ltd

Amsterdam

ABACUS +

New copy. Fast shipping. Will be shipped from US.

Island At The Center Of The World

Americas

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See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shorto, Russell. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shorto, Russell

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shorto, Russell. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason

Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City

Gospel Truth

Amsterdam

Island At The Center Of The World

Tecumseh and the Dream of an American Indian Nation (Alvin Josephy's Biography Series of American Indians)

Geronimo and the Struggle for Apache Freedom (Alvin Josephy's Biography Series of American Indians)

Tecumseh and the Dream of an American Indian Nation (Alvin Josephy's Biography Series of American Indians)

Geronimo and the Struggle for Apache Freedom (Alvin Josephy's Biography Series of American Indians)

Abraham Lincoln: To Preserve the Union (History of the Civil War Series)