Socrates
A Man for Our Times
“Spectacular . . . A delight to read.”
—The Wall Street Journal
From bestselling biographer and historian Paul Johnson, a brilliant portrait of Socrates, the founding father of philosophy
In his highly acclaimed style, historian Paul Johnson masterfully disentangles centuries of scarce sources to offer a riveting account of Socrates, who is often hailed as the most important thinker of all time. Johnson provides a compelling picture of Athens in the fifth century BCE, and of the people Socrates reciprocally delighted in, as well as many enlightening and intimate analyses of specific aspects of his personality. Enchantingly portraying "the sheer power of Socrates's mind, and its unique combination of steel, subtlety, and frivolity," Paul Johnson captures the vast and intriguing life of a…
Educated at Oxford, author of a number of landmark works of history, philosophy, and religion, Paul Johnson is one of the preeminent historians of our time. He lives in England.