Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason
Author:
Genres: History, Religion & Spirituality, Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: History, Religion & Spirituality, Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
Gary A. (doublea1971) reviewed on + 8 more book reviews
Descartes' Bones is a VERY interesting read, but falls short of the ideas implied in the title (that of the SKELETAL history).
The strength of this book is Shorto's ability as a raconteur. He has quite the ability to weave a story around what can sometimes be rather dry portions of history. For instance, in this book, the already interesting and well documented French Revolution becomes even move vibrant by Shorto's use of "sideline" characters who he moves from the pages of history into the limelight. If you want an interesting historical survey which is based somewhat loosely around philosophical ideals... then this is the book for you. It is a very well written book and fun story to follow.
The weakness of this book is Shorto's inability to deliver on the story of Descartes' bones and their literal travels thru history. In fact, after mentioning this on page xiv of the preface, I don't believe that this storyline (with one VERY brief exception) actually appears again until almost page 100 of the book. Shorto seemingly has a difficult time remaining on topic throughout this book (but the topical drifts DO entertain).
Is this book worth taking your time to peruse and or/dig into? Certainly. Is this book what one might expect from it's title and back cover review? Probably not. But it IS a fun and interesting look at a large swath of history, and in particular the more modern history of philosophy.
The strength of this book is Shorto's ability as a raconteur. He has quite the ability to weave a story around what can sometimes be rather dry portions of history. For instance, in this book, the already interesting and well documented French Revolution becomes even move vibrant by Shorto's use of "sideline" characters who he moves from the pages of history into the limelight. If you want an interesting historical survey which is based somewhat loosely around philosophical ideals... then this is the book for you. It is a very well written book and fun story to follow.
The weakness of this book is Shorto's inability to deliver on the story of Descartes' bones and their literal travels thru history. In fact, after mentioning this on page xiv of the preface, I don't believe that this storyline (with one VERY brief exception) actually appears again until almost page 100 of the book. Shorto seemingly has a difficult time remaining on topic throughout this book (but the topical drifts DO entertain).
Is this book worth taking your time to peruse and or/dig into? Certainly. Is this book what one might expect from it's title and back cover review? Probably not. But it IS a fun and interesting look at a large swath of history, and in particular the more modern history of philosophy.
