The Swerve: How the World Became Modern

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt is an award-winning work of nonfiction that explores how one forgotten manuscript helped shape modern thought. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction and the National Book Award, this fascinating book follows Renaissance book hunter Poggio Bracciolini, who discovered a long-lost copy of Lucretius’ ancient poem On the Nature of Things in 1417.

Greenblatt brings history, literature, philosophy, and scholarship together in a vivid story of discovery and change. Lucretius’ poem contained bold ideas about nature, pleasure, matter, religion, and the universe, ideas that would later influence thinkers such as Galileo, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, and Thomas Jefferson.

Part literary history, part intellectual adventure, this book is a compelling choice for readers interested in Renaissance history, ancient philosophy, lost manuscripts, and the power of books to change the world.

Paperback, Very Good. Does have The Bookstore stamp on first inside page plus a sticker on inside of front cover.