The Wisdom of the Renaissance

The European Renaissance was a period when great changes in ideas were reshaping society, driven by imaginative thinkers who challenged the old philosophies of the medieval world. This book profiles nine men whose writings have been seminal to the development of modern Western thought: Petrarch, Erasmus, and Machiavelli; Thomas More, Castiglione, and Rabelais; Montaigne, Cervantes, and Shakespeare; some of these names are still known, but others, largely forgotten. Each chapter includes a short summary placing the subject in his historical context and a brief biography that explains how the person’s ideas developed influenced by his background, culture, and experiences. Most importantly, thoughtful analysis of the thinker’s work and writings gives the reader a good overview of what his writings were about and why and how they have been, and continue to be, so important. The author is perceptive and careful to present each person’s ideas clearly and fairly, with sympathy and admiration; his inclusion of countering arguments as well, along with his own rebuttals, gives the reader a balanced conception of the flow of these ideas through time. The book is written conversationally and is a pleasure to read. It’s a wonderful introduction to these paradigm-changing ideas and to the men themselves, restoring them from obscurity to the prominent recognition they deserve.