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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...
2) 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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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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"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...
6) 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...
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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...
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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.
10) Simply Beethoven
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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...
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...
12) Simply Tolstoy
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Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was born at Yasnaya Polyana, his ancestral estate located about 120 miles from Moscow. While he would live and travel in other places over the years, he always considered this family residence in the Russian heartland as his.
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 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.
16) 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.
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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,...
18) Simply Turing
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Alan Turing (1912-1954) was born in London and showed signs of genius from a very young age. Turing was just 24 when he devised the theory that led to the development of modern computers and he went on to achieve major breakthroughs in probability, number theory, cryptology, and mathematical biology. His codebreaking efforts during World War II allowed the British to decipher secret German communications, effectively shortening the war and saving...
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The apostle Paul. The converted terrorist, inspired author, amazing teacher, and patient mentor.
This colossal figure strode boldly onto the stage of the first-century world and left an indelible signature of greatness never to be forgotten. His life? Magnificent! And his ministry? Impressive. While assigned sainthood by some today, by his own description he was "the chief of all sinners." No other person in the Bible, aside from Christ Himself,...
20) David
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David, unlike any Bible character before him, had the charisma to inspire a great nation. Yet in other ways he was a most ordinary man-often gripped by destructive passion, rocked by personal tragedy, and motivated by political gain. Yet, he is the one character the Bible describes as a "man after God's own heart." In this first volume of the "Great Lives" series Charles Swindoll shows how David proved his love for God many times over in an extraordinary...
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