Modern Mind

Times,
the
Observer,
and the
Spectator,
and is the author of
War on the Mind, Wisdom and Strength, The Caravaggio Conspiracy,
and other books. He lives in London.
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PRAISE FOR
THE MODERN MIND
     
    “A remarkable narrative history of all the significant intellectual advances that made the century so glorious, so tragic, so revolutionary, so exciting…. So lucid and engaging that even the most complex and arcane thoughts and subjects are inviting.”
    —
Indianapolis Times
    “Teeming with stories and ideas, alive with excitement of the time. He summarizes accurately, elegantly, and enthusiastically the lives and thoughts of hundreds of impactful thinkers in almost every discipline. He makes archaeology, history, and economics as scintillating as poetry, music, and astral theory. His inexhaustible interest is infectious. His all-devouring appetite stimulates the reader’s hunger for more material…. The result is breathtakingly entertaining, endlessly instructive, irresistibly enjoyable.”
    —Felipe Fernandez-Armstrong,
Sunday Times
    “It is lively, opinionated, and written with verve. Watson takes the reader on a narrative tour of the intellectual, scientific, and artistic landmarks—some familiar, some unfamiliar—of the last century. Whether read consecutively, dipped into on occasion, or used as a reference work,
The Modern Mind
is impressive in both its range and ambition.”
    —Bruce Mazlish, professor of history, MIT
    “Chronicles this contentious century with a panoramic overview of the history of ideas in the twentieth century. Watson provides an evenhanded account of the development of ideas in disciplines ranging from philosophy and religion to the social sciences, economics, art, literature, history, science, and film.”
    —
Christian Science Monitor
    “Watson has achieved the near-impossible: a concise reference that is also intellectually compelling—and a fascinating read.”
    —
Kirkus Reviews
    “While this work is reminiscent of Paul Johnson’s
Modern Times,
Watson’s scope goes far beyond politics and history. This book will be read and consulted for many years.”
    —
Library Journal

Copyright
     
    First published in Great Britain in 2000 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
     
    A hardcover edition of this book was published in 2001 by HarperCollins Publishers.
     
    THE MODERN MIND . Copyright © 2001 by Peter Watson.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
     
    EPub Edition © NOVEMBER 2010 ISBN: 978-0-062-03912-5
     
    FIRST PERENNIAL EDITION published 2002.
     
    The Library of Congress has catalogued the hardcover edition as follows:
Watson, Peter.
The modern mind: an intellectual history of the twentieth century /
Peter Watson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-06-019413-8
1. Civilisation, Modern—20th century. 2. Intellectual life—History—20th century. 3. Philosophy, modern—20th century. I. Title.
CB427.W33   2001
909.82—dc20                     00-063166
     
    ISBN 0-06-008438-3 (pbk.)
     
    02   03   04   05   06    RRD   10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2
     



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