Enlightening the World : Encyclopedie, The Book That Changed the Course of History

Review
"With exceptional interpretive skill, Philipp Blom provides a fascinating study--replete with wonderful stories, racy gossip, and grand personalities--of the arduous struggle to produce the work that became a testament to humanity: The Encyclopedia."-- Stephen Eric Bronner, Rutgers University

"...not only a tribute to a very worthy project of enlightenment and liberation; it is also a thoroughly good read."--The Literary Review


Book Description
In 1777 several of the world's greatest men gathered together to create a book that would champion rationalism, free thinking, and secularism--the Encyclopédie. Such leading minds as Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire conceived of a work that would tear down the social order dominated by the Crown and Church, a brave act at a time when heresy could still be punished by death. During the years it took to produce all twenty-seven volumes, the writers faced exile, jail, and censorship. But when they were done, they had created a book that would provide the foundation for the Enlightenment and change the world forever. Novelist and historian Philipp Blom presents the story behind the sixteen-year struggle to create the Encyclopédie, the men who wrote it, the powerful forces that tried to suppress it, and the tremendous impact it had on the world.


About the Author
Philipp Blom is a journalist, translator, novelist, and historian. He is author of To Have and To Hold and writes regularly for the Times Literary Supplement and The Daily Telegraph. He lives in Paris.



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In 1777 several of the world's greatest men gathered together to create a book that would champion rationalism, free thinking, and secularism--the Encyclopédie. Such leading minds as Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire conceived of a work that would tear down the social order dominated by the Crown and Church, a brave act at a time when heresy could still be punished by death. During the years it took to produce all twenty-seven volumes, the writers faced exile, jail, and censorship. But when they were done, they had created a book that would provide the foundation for the Enlightenment and change the world forever. Novelist and historian Philipp Blom presents the story behind the sixteen-year struggle to create the Encyclopédie, the men who wrote it, the powerful forces that tried to suppress it, and the tremendous impact it had on the world.


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