National Book Award Non Fiction Winner
The Enlightenment: An Interpretation
by Peter Gay
Summary
The first volume of a massive study of the 18th-century intellectual movement, defining the Enlightenment as a "recovery of nerve" and a return to classical values.
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Historical Context & Significance
Gay was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany; his defense of Enlightenment reason was seen as a personal response to the irrationality of 20th-century fascism.