Flesh in the Age of Reason

Oct 11, 2024 5:22 AM

Author:Roy Porter

'As an introduction to early modern thinking and the impact of past ideas on present lives, this book can find few equals and no superiors. Porter is a witty, humane writer with an extraordinary vocabulary and a sparkling sense of fun. Whether he is quoting from obscure medical texts or analysing scabrous diaries, dishing the dirt on long-dead bigwigs or evoking sympathy for human suffering, his grasp is masterly and his erudition appealing. I wish I could read it again for the first time: you can.' Times Educational Supplement, Book of the Week

In this startlingly brilliant sequel to the prize-winning ENLIGHTENMENT Roy Porter completes his lifetime's work, offering a magical, enthusiastic and charming account of the writings of some of the most attractive figures ever to write English.

Reviews

Sensitive and nuanced, this is a fine piece of synthesis and analysis

—— Sunday Times

Superb . . . [Browning] has created an eloquent, painstaking narrative of how the Final Solution evolved

—— Joshua Rubenstein , Wall Street Journal

This is a book of exceptional quality - The work of a historian at the peak of his powers, a magisterial study, a profound analysis of how the darkest chapter in human history could come about

—— Ian Kershaw, bestselling author of Hitler

This magisterial work... An unrivaled account of how the Nazi leadership ended up with a policy of industrialized mass murder of Jews - Probably no one is better qualified for this task than Christopher Browning.

—— Mark Mazower, New York Times

Browning is persuasive because he marshals his evidence with unrivalled skill and writes with awesome clarity.

—— Literary Review

To seek an answer to "why", we have first to grasp "how" and pick our way down the track which leads...from "Expel to Exploit to Exterminate". On that journey, this book is the best guide.

—— Observer

A winning combination of forensic precision with the historian's skill of telling a story clearly and powerfully... A demonstration of what good history is about

—— Evening Standard

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