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Born in the port city of Taganrog in southern Russia, Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) survived a difficult childhood with an abusive father and put himself through school (while supporting his family), qualifying as a physician in 1884. At the same time he began practicing medicine, he also became celebrated for his short fiction, which redefined the genre with its formal innovations and psychological depth. His first serious play, The Seagull, was booed...
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Born to a poor Lutheran pastor in what is today the Federal Republic of Germany, Bernhard Riemann (1826-1866) was a child math prodigy who began studying for a degree in theology before formally committing to mathematics in 1846, at the age of 20. Though he would live for only another 20 years (he died of pleurisy during a trip to Italy), his seminal work in a number of key areas-several of which now bear his name-had a decisive impact on the shape...
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Born and raised in a small town in Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900) began his career in philology (the study of language), and served as a professor at the University of Basel. In 1879, he was forced to leave due to health issues, which afflicted him throughout his life. Supported by his university pension and aided by friends, he spent the next decade as an independent author, writing the books for which he would become famous, including...
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René Descartes was born in La Haye en Touraine, France, on March 31, 1596. He attended a Jesuit college and studied law for two years, but he soon gave up formal academics to immerse himself in "the great book of the world." In 1618, he joined the army, where he became interested in military engineering and expanded his knowledge of physics and mathematics. Then, one night in 1619, he experienced what he described as divine visions, which inspired...
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Avram Noam Chomsky was born in Philadelphia in 1928 to Jewish immigrant parents who were both educators. His parents were mainstream liberals, but through relatives, Chomsky was exposed at an early age to socialism and other progressive ideas that shaped his politics. After earning his Ph.D. in theoretical linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania in 1955 and a fellowship at Harvard University, Chomsky became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute...
6) Simply Hegel
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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) attended the Gymnasium Illustre and, at the age of 18, entered the Tübingen Seminary, from which he received his theological certificate in 1793. His early writings, composed while he was serving as a family tutor in Bern and Frankfurt, dealt with religious subjects. From 1801 until his untimely death thirty years later, Hegel held professorships at several prestigious universities and went on to write the...
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"This is a delightful introduction to the life and ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre. Detmer's writing is clear, engaging, and fun to read. The book weaves together accurate overviews of Sartre's main ideas with convincing reasons these ideas are still relevant today. The book ends with useful summaries of 50 of Sartre's works-a perfect roadmap for anyone who wishes to read Sartre himself. If I had to recommend one book to a friend, colleague, or family member...
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"As Philip Weinstein suggests, there is no better way to begin than by plunging into the work of William Faulkner. But it's immensely useful to have at one's elbow a knowledgeable guide, and there is none better than Weinstein. He himself is a brilliant.
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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) showed musical talent from an early age and was first taught by his musician father, Johann, an alcoholic who often beat his son. At the age of 21, Beethoven moved to Vienna, where he studied with composer Joseph Haydn, and quickly became renowned as a pianist and conductor, as well as a composer. He continued to perform until 1811 when increasing deafness made it impossible, but until his death in 1827, he continued...
10) Simply Eliot
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Though he was born in St. Louis, Missouri and attended Harvard University, at the age of 26, Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888–1965) emigrated to England, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life. Influenced equally by his formative years in the New World and his experiences in London during and after World War I, Eliot strove to reconcile a variety of conflicting ideas while trapped in an unhappy marriage-a struggle that gave rise to some of...
11) Simply Chopin
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Born in a small town near Warsaw, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) was a musical prodigy who began giving public concerts and composed his first piano pieces at the age of seven. Following studies at the Warsaw Conservatory, he left his native Poland in 1830, eventually settling in Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. There he cultivated friendships with prominent musicians and intellectuals of the period and quickly achieved renown as a virtuoso...
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Where are great leaders like Elijah today? Uncompromisingly strong, yet self-controlled. Disciplined, yet forgiving. Audaciously courageous, yet kind. Heroic in the heat of battle, yet humble in the aftermath.
We see a few such men and women, but the list is tragically short. Rarely does someone model these invaluable traits more obviously than God's mighty prophet Elijah, whose calling was anything but calm and free from conflict. Nevertheless,...
13) Simply Joyce
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Generally considered one of the greatest modern writers, James Joyce (1882—1941) grew up in Dublin, Ireland, but spent his adult life in the European cities of Trieste, Zurich, and Paris.
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Born in Vienna into an extremely wealthy and highly cultured family, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) grew up surrounded by art, music, and a disturbing amount of dysfunctional behavior. After studying mechanical engineering and developing an interest in aeronautics, he became obsessed with mathematics and logic, which led to his life’s work exploring the relationship between language, philosophy, and reality.
InSimply Wittgenstein, James Klagge...
15) Simply Darwin
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Simply Darwin tells the story of Charles Robert Darwin (1809—1882) and his theory of evolution through natural selection. On one level, the book portrays a dedicated scientist who, through careful observation and brilliant insight, became convinced that.
16) Simply Napoleon
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The first emperor of France and one of the shrewdest military leaders of all time, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769—1821) eventually came to control much of Europe.
17) Simply Gödel
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Kurt Gödel (1906—1978) was born in Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic) and grew up in an ethnic German family. As a student, he excelled in languages and mathematics, mastering university-level math while still in high school.
18) Simply Chinggis
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The man we know as Chinggis Khan (c. 1162-1227) began as a young boy named Temüjin, who was born in obscurity in the steppes of Asia. Far from immediately setting out to conquer the world, Temüjin had to overcome numerous hardships and setbacks, allowing him to gradually rise from a minor figure to one of increasing importance. Following an initial alliance with his father's blood brother Toghril, Temüjin went on to lead a series of wars that unified...
19) Simply Hitchcock
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From Dial M for Murder and Vertigo to North by Northwest, Psycho and The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock (1899—1980) made some of the most memorable thrillers in the history of cinema. Acclaimed for both his daring artistic innovations and his irrepressible show.
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Who do you say that I am? Whether or not you know it, this question, posed by Jesus, is the most important question you'll ever answer. But it's not only a question for those who haven't trusted Jesus for salvation; it's also one for those who call themselves followers of Christ. Many will claim to know the answer, but even Peter, who answered it correctly, didn't fully understand who Jesus was until later. And in a culture two millennia removed,...