A review by scottjeffe
The Age of Genius: The Seventeenth Century and the Birth of the Modern Mind by A.C. Grayling

4.0

Very interesting appraisal of the 17th century. Grayling’s hypothesis is that the 17th century is THE century that changed everything for humanity. Looking at the world at the dawn of that century - Elizabeth is still on the English throne, and the end of that century - a Dutch prince is king of Great Britain (not just England). He points out that this is because of the array of thinkers who were at work during this time. He ascribes the rise of the first postal services as of key importance to this advancement. He also points out - and this was of the greatest interest to me - that all of this intellectual advancement occurred during one of the most violent centuries on record (at least to that time).