Sixteen years after René Descartes' death in Stockholm in 1650, a pious
French ambassador exhumed the remains of the controversial philosopher
to transport them back to Paris. Thus began a 350-year saga that saw
Descartes' bones traverse a continent, passing between kings,
philosophers, poets, and painters.
But as Russell Shorto shows in this deeply engaging book, Descartes'
bones also played a role in some of the most momentous episodes in
history, which are also part of the philosopher's metaphorical remains:
the birth of science, the rise of democracy, and the earliest debates
between reason and faith. Descartes' Bones is a flesh-and-blood story
about the battle between religion and rationalism that rages to this
day.
A New York Times Notable Book