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Between 1750 and 1933, Germany, formerly considered the backwards neighbor of more ''enlightened'' countries like England or France, came into its own as an intellectual powerhouse. Goethe, Mozart, Mendel, Schopenhauer and Einstein are just a few of the many German scientists, philosophers and artists who came to dominate their respective fields. Following the devastating effects of the Third Reich and World War II, German thinkers have once again begun to make significant contributions to the world of ideas. The German Genius follows the development of German intellectualism and its tremendous influence on the Western world. From the arts and humanities to science and philosophy, acclaimed historian Peter Watson presents a lively and accessible review of more than 250 years of German intellectual history. Peter Watson was educated at the universities of Durham, London, and Rome. He has written for the Sunday Times, the Times, the New York 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. ''Watson enshrines a vast pantheon of creative thinkers ... [including] compressed summaries of some exceedingly difficult ideas. The range of subjects is impressive, from painters to physicists.'' - New York Times Book Review
About the author
Peter Watson has been a senioreditor at the London Sunday Times, a New York correspondentof the London Times, a columnist for theLondon Observer, and a contributor to the New YorkTimes. He has published three exposés on the world ofart and antiquities, and is the author of several booksof cultural and intellectual history. From 1997 to 2007he was a research associate at the McDonald Institutefor Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge.He lives in London.