The Swerve: How the World Became Modern Audiobook

" Entertaining. Sort of like a very long, good New Yorker piece. "

" Great! Now to learn more about Hypatia of Alexandria, Pierre Gassendi, Montaigne, Leonardo Bruni, Jerome of Prague, Thomas Harriot, Giordano Bruno, Jan Hus and John Wycliffe. I love when books lead you down new avenues of discovery! "

" A long lost Latin poem found, shaping the future of modern thought "

" Lucretius was obviously a genius and Poggio's book hunting quest is fascinating. This discovery, along with others, really did help Western Europe pull itself out of the dark ages. The author writes with passion and while its not a quick read, he always seems to make it interesting. "

" I'm glad I read it but it was a dry read for me. It is interesting the correlations of one person resurrecting/finding an old text can have such a far reaching affects on current society and religious reactions to it though. So if you are one that are interested in ancient manuscripts and people who chose to search for them long ago you may enjoy it more than I. "

" Great book. It was informative and interesting, and the author's writing style made it an enjoyable read. "

" A must-read, AMAZING story and book. "

" So fun. An intellectual adventure. Only the dead would not love this book. "

" I liked the content, but historical references were numerouse. It reads more like a term paper than a novel. But good stuff. "

" I realized very quickly that this would be a magazine article I would love, but I could just not stay interested for 300 pages. Great writing, thought-provoking etc etc etc. But too many books, too little time. "

" Fully rad, very readable. Features renaissance humanists being shitheads, bad popes, and a crazy poem about molecules and sex that freaked everybody out. "

" Thomas Jefferson owned at least five Latin editions of "On the Nature of Things" Now I know why. A must read. "

" Elegantly traces the winding path of a school of philosophy that sets religious paradigms to one side. The line runs from Epicurus, Lucretius, Florentine humanists and Montaigne, through the enlightenment to our times. "

" very interesting book about how an obscure ancient poem, On the Nature of Things, changed the course of history... "

" I really liked this book! It was actually more about one of the great book hunters - Poggio - who located Lucretius' manuscript in a monastery. Very interesting history! "

" A well-told tale of intellectual history and survival. Lovers of the book will find this an enormously satisfying romp. "

" Background on political and social climate of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and early Renaissance was fascinating. For me it lost a little drive after the big discovery was finally made. "

" I feel like a dunce after reading how much others enjoyed this book :/. Holy cow, to me it was like watching paint dry - or worse, someone saying, "i had the weirdest dream..." & then espousing on it while i remained trapped @ water cooler ugh! "

" So apparently my modern life owes it existence to a 2000-year old poem. Cool. "

" Lucky thing those atoms swerve so we can get a bit of freedom in our lives. I think I am a closet Epicurean. This book is fun and covers lots of factual material. "

" I loved it! Greenblatt always tells a great story at the same time as he provides fascinating facts and speculations. "

" Book hunting in the 15th century -- actually a fascinating topic. Just as fascinating as the story of the rediscovery and popularity of Lucretius' On the Nature of Things. "

" A good book (Swerve) about a book I love (De Rerum Natura by Lucretius). I learned a lot... Thank you, Poggio Bracciolini! "

" Fascinating telling of the rediscovery of Lucretious Epicurian poem and its influence. Maybe reaches a bit at times. "

" Wonderfully written; Greenblatt has a novelist's gift as a story teller. Fascinating if somewhat superficial description of Epicurean philosophy, as exemplified by the Roman poet Lucretius, of early Renaissance thought and politics, and of the intersection between those things. "