# Paul Strathern
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{{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](/source/writer) and academic.
Strathern was born in [London](/source/London), and studied philosophy at [Trinity College, Dublin](/source/Trinity_College%2C_Dublin),[[https://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm/author_number/x3152/paul-strathern Book Browse website]] after which he served in the [Merchant Navy](/source/Merchant_Navy) over a period of two years. He then lived on a [Greek island](/source/Greek_island).[[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17134.Paul_Strathern Goodreads website]] In 1966, he travelled overland to [India](/source/India) and the [Himalayas](/source/Himalayas). His novel ''A Season in Abyssinia'' won a [Somerset Maugham Award](/source/Somerset_Maugham_Award) in 1972.[[https://aspectsofhistory.com/authors/paul-strathern/ Aspects of History website]]
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](/source/Philosophy_in_90_Minutes_series)'' 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Weidenfeld_and_Nicolson), 1968)
*''A Season in Abyssinia: An Impersonation of Arthur Rimbaud'' (London: [Macmillan](/source/Macmillan_Publishers), 1972; reissued London: [Faber and Faber](/source/Faber_and_Faber), 2014)
*''One Man's War'' (London: [Quartet Books](/source/Quartet_Books), 1973; reprinted 1974)
*''Vaslav: An Impersonation of Nijinsky'' (London: Quartet Books, 1975)
*''The Adventures of Spiro'' (Brighton: [Harvester Press](/source/The_Harvester_Press_Publishing_Group), 1979)
===Popular history===
*''Exploration by Land'' (Silk and Spices Routes Series; London: Belitha Press for [UNESCO](/source/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](/source/St._Martins_Press), 2001; reissued London: [Penguin](/source/Penguin_Books), 2001). Selected as one of Bill Gates' [https://www.gatesnotes.com/Holiday-Books-2022 '5 of my all-time favorite books'.][https://www.gatesnotes.com/Holiday-Books-2022]
*''Dr Strangelove's Game: A Brief History of Economic Genius'' (London: [Hamish Hamilton](/source/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](/source/Jonathan_Cape), 2003; reissued London: [Vintage Books](/source/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](/source/Newton_Compton_Editori), 2017) and Russian
*''A Brief History of Medicine from Hippocrates to Gene Therapy'' (London: [Robinson](/source/Constable_%26_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](/source/Pimlico_(publishing_imprint)), 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](/source/Little%2C_Brown_and_Company), 2016)
* ''The Borgias: Power and Fortune'' ([Atlantic](/source/Atlantic_Books) 2019)
* ''Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires'' ([Hodder](/source/Hodder_%26_Stoughton) 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. [{{cite web | title=Dark Brilliance | url=https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/dark-brilliance/ }}]
'''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](/source/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. 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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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
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Paul Strathern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Strathern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Strathern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.