A Wicked Company: The Forgotten Radicalism of the European Enlightenment
Inbunden bok. New York Basic Books. Första uppl. 2010. xxii, 362 sidor.
Mycket gott skick. Skyddsomslag i mycket gott skick. Dazzling recreation of the world of radical free-thinkers in 18th-century FranceFrom the 1750s to the 1770s, the Paris salon of Baron d'Holbach was an epicenter of debate, intellectual daring and revolutionary ideas, uniting around one table vivid personalities from Denis Diderot, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin, the radical ex-priest Guillaume Raynal, the Italian Count Beccaria and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who later turned against his friends.It was a moment of astonishing racicalism in European thought, so uncompromising and bold that it was viciously opposed by rival philosophers such as Voltaire and the turncoat Rousseau, and finally suppressed by Robespierre and his Revolutionary henchmen. In Wicked Company, acclaimed historian Philipp Blom retraces the fortunes and characters of this exceptional group of friends and brings to life their startling ideas, largely forgotten by historians. Brilliant minds full of wit, courage and humanity, their thinking created a different and radical French Enlightenment based on atheism, passion, empathy and a compellingly insightful perspective on society. Their ideas force us to confront the debates about our own society and its future with new eyes.
Förlagsfakta
- ISBN
- 9780465014538
- Titel
- A wicked company : the forgotten radicalism of the European Enlightenment
- Författare
- Blom, Philipp
- Förlag
- New York : Basic Books
- Språk
- English
- Baksidestext
- Acclaimed historian, Philipp Blom, retraces the fortunes and characters of the men, that from the 1750s to the 1770s in the Paris salon of Baron Paul Thirty Holback had debated with intellectual daring and produced revolutionary ideas. These brilliant minds full of wit, courage, and humanity in their thinking created a different and radical French Enlightenment based on atheism, passion, empathy, and a compellingly insightful perspective on society.--[book cover]
Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-343) and index.
Fathers and sons. City of lights ; Journeys ; Encyclopédie: grand ambitions ; Chez M. Holbach ; Audacity ; Christianity unveiled ; Only the wicked man lives alone -- Marvelous machines. Le bon David ; A natural philosophy ; Sheikhs of the Rue Royale ; Grandval ; The bear -- The island of love. Crime and punishment ; The most ungrateful dogg in the world ; Fame and fate ; The empress and the Bean King ; Sex in paradise ; Fifty hired priests -- A stolen revolution.
