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Description edit
A riveting tale of the great cultural "swerve" known as the Renaissance. One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect,... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Poggio Bracciolini: Out of work Papal scribe turned book hunter.
- Lucretius: Classical author of On the Nature of Things, a brilliant poem summing up Epicureanism.
- Epicurus: Classical philosopher.
- Niccolo Niccoli: Humanist, friend of Poggio Bracciolini.
- Salutati: Add a description of this character.
- Baldassare Cossa: For a short time he claimed the title Pope John XXIII.
- Petrarch
- Johann Gutenberg
- St Jerome
- Ovid (Roman)
- Hypatia
- Plato
- Aristotle
- Tertullian
- Virgil
- Cicero
- Lapo de Castiglionchio
- George of Trebizond
- Lorenzo Valla
- Jan Hus
- Jerome of Prague
- Girolamo Savonarola
- Tommaso da Sarzana: Pope Nicholas V
- Niccolo Machiavelli
- Michele Tarchaniota Marullo
- Thomas More
- Giordano Bruno
- Thomas Harriot
- William Shakespeare
- Montaigne
- Henry Beaufort
- Galileo Galilei
- Lucy Hutchinson
- Thomas Jefferson
- Baldassarie Cossa aka John Xxiii: Humanist pope who was removed from office and whose papal name was struck from Roman Catholic records; Poggio's former employer.
- Bartolomeo
- Leonardo Bruni
- Richental
First Sentence edit
In the winter of 1417, Poggio Bracciolini rode through the wooded hills and valleys of southern Germany toward his distant destination, a monastery reputed to have a cache of old manuscripts.
Table of Contents edit
Preface
Chapter One: The Book Hunter
Chapter Two: The Moment of Discovery
Chapter Three: In Search of Lucretius
Chapter Four: The Teeth of Time
Chapter Five: Birth and Rebirth
Chapter Six: In the Lie Factory
Chapter Seven: A Pit to Catch Foxes
Chapter Eight: The Way Things Are
Chapter Nine: The Return
Chapter Ten: Swerves
Chapter Eleven: Afterlives
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Photograph Credits
Index
Series & Lists edit
This book is in Kirkus Reviews: Best Nonfiction of 2011. (authoritative list)
This book is in Amazon.com Best Books of 2011. (authoritative list)
This is book 13 of 20 in New York Times Bestsellers - Paperback Nonfiction (Current). (authoritative list)
This book is in Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2011. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Stephen Greenblatt (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: 26 Sep 2011
ISBN: 0393064476
Page Count: 356
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: 26 Sep 2011
ISBN: 0393064476
Page Count: 356
Awards edit
- Pulitzer Prize (2012: General Non-fiction)
- National Book Award (2011: Nonfiction)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PA6484 .G69 2011
- Dewey: 940.21
Subjects edit
- Books › History › World
- Books › History › World › Medieval
- Books › Nonfiction › Philosophy › Greek & Roman
- Books › Nonfiction › Social Sciences › Philosophy
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