{{Short description|Scottish writer and academic}}{{BLP sources|date=June 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Paul Strathern''' (born 1940) is a Scots-Irish writer and academic.

Strathern was born in London, and studied philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin,<ref>[https://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/x3152/paul-strathern Book Browse website]</ref> after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island.<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17134.Paul_Strathern Goodreads website]</ref> In 1966, he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas. His novel ''A Season in Abyssinia'' won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1972.<ref>[https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/paul-strathern/ Aspects of History website]</ref>

Besides five novels, he has also written books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics. He is the author of two series of short introductory books: ''Philosophers in 90 Minutes'' and ''The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World''.

His book on the history of chemistry entitled ''Mendeleyev's Dream'' (2000) was short-listed for the Aventis Prize, and his works have been translated into over two dozen languages.

His work on economic history ''Dr Strangelove's Game'' (2001) was chosen as a Google business book of the year. His book ''Ten Cities that Changed The World'' (2022) was chosen as a Waterstones History Book of the Year.

Strathern was a lecturer at Kingston University, where he taught philosophy and mathematics. He has one daughter.

==List of books==

===Novels===

*''Pass by the Sea: A Novel'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1968) *''A Season in Abyssinia: An Impersonation of Arthur Rimbaud'' (London: Macmillan, 1972; reissued London: Faber and Faber, 2014) *''One Man's War'' (London: Quartet Books, 1973; reprinted 1974) *''Vaslav: An Impersonation of Nijinsky'' (London: Quartet Books, 1975) *''The Adventures of Spiro'' (Brighton: Harvester Press, 1979)

===Popular history===

*''Exploration by Land'' (Silk and Spices Routes Series; London: Belitha Press for UNESCO, 1993); published in Irish as ''Bóthar an tSíoda: taiscéalaíocht thar tír'' (Baile Átha Cliath [i.e. Dublin]: An Gúm, 2000) *''Mendeleyev's Dream: The Quest for the Elements'' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2000; US edn. New York: St. Martins Press, 2001; reissued London: Penguin, 2001). Selected as one of Bill Gates' [https://www.gatesnotes.com/Holiday-Books-2022 '5 of my all-time favorite books'.]<ref>https://www.gatesnotes.com/Holiday-Books-2022</ref> *''Dr Strangelove's Game: A Brief History of Economic Genius'' (London: Hamish Hamilton, 2001; reissued London: Penguin, 2002); also published as ''A Brief History of Economic Genius'' (New York; London: Texere, 2002) *''The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2003; reissued London: Vintage Books, 2007); also published as ''The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance'' (New York: Pegasus Books, 2016); published in Italian as ''I Medici: potere, denaro e ambizione'' (I volti della storia, no. 427; Pisa: Newton Compton, 2017) and Russian *''A Brief History of Medicine from Hippocrates to Gene Therapy'' (London: Robinson, 2005) *''Napoleon in Egypt: The Greatest Glory'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2007; reissued London: Vintage, 2008) *''The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior: Leonardo, Machiavelli and Borgia. A Fateful Collusion'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2009; reissued London: Vintage, 2010) *''Death in Florence: the Medici, Savonarola and the Battle for the Soul of the Renaissance City'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2011; reissued London: Vintage, 2012) *''The Spirit of Venice: from Marco Polo to Casanova'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 2012; reissued London: Pimlico, 2013; digital edn. London: Vintage Digital, 2012) *''The Periodic Table'' (The Knowledge Series, no. 3; London: Quadrille, 2015) *''Quacks, Rogues and Charlatans of the R[oyal] C[ollege of] P[hysicians]: 50 Books from the College Collection'' (500 Reflections on the R[oyal] C[ollege of] P[hysicians], 1518–2018; London: Little, Brown, 2016) * ''The Borgias: Power and Fortune'' (Atlantic 2019) * ''Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires'' (Hodder 2019) * ''The Florentines: from Dante to Galileo'' (Atlantic 2021) * ''Ten Cities That Changed The World'' (Hodder 2022) * ''The Other Renaissance: From Copernicus to Shakespeare'' (Atlantic 2022) * ''Dark Brilliance: The Age of Reason from Descartes to Peter the Great'' (Atlantic 2024). A Waterstones History Book of the Year 2024. <ref>{{cite web | title=Dark Brilliance | url=https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/dark-brilliance/ }}</ref>

'''Philosophers in 90 Minutes/Virgin Philosophers'''

*''Wittgenstein (1889–1951) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Wittgenstein'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Hume (1711–76) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Hume'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002); published in French as ''Hume, je connais!'' (Air de savoir. Série Les philosophes, je connais; Paris: Mallard Editions, 1998) *''Kant (1724–1804) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Kant'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Locke (1632–1704) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996) *''Descartes in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: I.R. Dee, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Descartes'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Plato (428–348 BC) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Plato'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Aristotle (384–322 BC) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Aristotle'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Nietzsche (1844–1900) in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1996); reissued as ''The Essential Nietzsche'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''St. Augustine in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; London: Constable, 1997) *''Sartre in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998); reissued as ''The Essential Sartre'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Machiavelli in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1998); reissued as ''The Essential Machiavelli'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Confucius in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1999); reissued as ''The Essential Confucius'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Foucault in 90 Minutes'' (Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2000); reissued as ''The Essential Foucault'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''Marx in 90 Minutes'' Philosophers in 90 Minutes Series; Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001); reissued as ''The Essential Marx'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''The Essential Derrida'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003) *''The Essential Hegel'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003) *''The Essential Rousseau'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2002) *''The Essential Socrates'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003) *''The Essential Spinoza'' (Virgin Philosophers Series; London: Virgin, 2003) '''Great Writers in 90 Minutes'''

*''Beckett in 90 minutes'' (London:Ivan R.Dee, 2004) *''Dostoievsky in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004) *''Garcia Marquez in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004) *''Kafka in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004) *''Nabokov in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2004) *''James Joyce in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005) *''D.&nbsp;H. Lawrence in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005) *''Hemingway in 90 minutes'' (London:Ivan R.Dee, 2005) *''Virginia Woolf in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2005) *''Borges in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2006) *''Tolstoy in 90 minutes'' (London: Ivan R.Dee, 2006) '''The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World'''

*''Pythagoras & His Theorem'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Turing & the Computer'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Hawking & Black Holes'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Newton & Gravity'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Crick, Watson & DNA'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Einstein & Relativity'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1997) *''Galileo & the Solar System'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998) *''Bohr & Quantum Theory'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998) *''Oppenheimer & the Bomb'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998) *''Curie & Radioactivity'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998) *''Archimedes & the Fulcrum'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998) *''Darwin & Evolution'' (Big Idea Series; London: Arrow, 1998)

===Travel===

*''Greece and the Greek Islands: The Versatile Guide'' (London: Duncan Petersen, 1994; 2nd edn. 1996) *''Florida: Travel Planner & Guide'' (London: Duncan Petersen, 1996) *''Australia : Travel Planner & Guide'' (London: Duncan Peterson, 1997)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/29/AR2010012902141.html ''Washington Post'' review of ''The Artist, the Philosopher and the Warrior'' (2009)]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strathern, Paul}} Category:Academics of Kingston University Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:British historians Category:Heidegger scholars Category:Irish historians of philosophy Category:Scottish historians of philosophy