This is an underrated book. It's really fascinating and very well researched. It could've been written better though (or shorter), but it's definitely a good read. ( )

This is an underrated book. It's really fascinating and very well researched. It could've been written better though (or shorter), but it's definitely a good read. ( )

Definitely worth reading, but the author could have said the same things in half the pages. He has an annoying habit of repeating every statement he makes in different words. The first three chapters are almost painfully wordy. Nevertheless, it provides a different perspective on geniuses and the history of some tools we use to measuring them, e.g., the IQ test. ( )

So what do you think of when you hear the word "genius"? For many, a picture of Einstein jumps to mind as the quintessential genius. But it hasn't always been that way. The ancient Greeks recognized in special people a spark of divine possession from outside a person. The Christian church thought these people were possessed by demons or angels. Romance poets couldn't make up their minds whether genius was imposed by some external agency or was a special quality of the individual.

McMahon uses this conundrum - just what is genius and what makes certain people have that undefinable quality - to expound on the history of how the Western world has thought about and attempted to explain or understand genius, and even in modern times whether there's such a thing as genius at all. It's a pretty decent work, but was a bit academic in spots and could have used some trimming for a more general audience.

All in all, recommended for folks who want to poke into a very Western, generically Christian-centric view of the question. ( )

An excellent book on how the concept of genius has shaped the Western mind. I especially liked the first chapter on the Greek and Roman origins of the concept of genius, a spirit that was born when a baby was conceived, and that guided the child into adulthood. As a class of daimon, or demon, the genius could be good and beneficial and lead the child into art or science or technology, or it could be evil, and lead the child into self destruction. The ability of many people in the Ancient world to astonish others was credited to their "genius", or their special spirit. The author carries the history of the concept of genius through the Christian world, and into the age of Enlightenment and the Romantic periods of European history, where the genius of famous philosophers and musicians are examined in light of the concepts of mind and philosophy of those periods. The research continues into modern times, where the cult of personality shows how special rulers, such as Stalin and Hitler, could also claim the mantle of genius. A good book on a little known subject, and I recommend it for people who have book collections in religion, Classical history or philosophy. And also for anyone with a genius in the family! ( )