The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

Oct 10, 2024 1:14 PM

Author:Jacob Burckhardt,Peter Burke,S. Middlemore

For nineteenth-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, the Italian Renaissance was nothing less than the beginning of the modern world - a world in which flourishing individualism and the competition for fame radically transformed science, the arts, and politics. In this landmark work he depicts the Italian city-states of Florence, Venice and Rome as providing the seeds of a new form of society, and traces the rise of the creative individual, from Dante to Michelangelo. A fascinating description of an era of cultural transition, this nineteenth-century masterpiece was to become the most influential interpretation of the Italian Renaissance, and anticipated ideas such as Nietzsche's concept of the 'Ubermensch' in its portrayal of an age of genius.

Reviews

This is much more than history; it is a tapestry of inspiration and love

—— The Guardian

One cannot but marvel at Ackroyd's erudition, his energy in marshallin g minutiae, his ear for quotation, his flair for dazzling juxtapositions, his vibrant imagination and sheer exuberance

—— The Times

Ackroyd covers not only literature but art, architecture, music and almost everything else that has passed through the minds of the English...just one damn interesting thing after another

—— Sunday Times

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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