Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book is most definitely NOT about "How the World Became Modern." It should have been titled "The Intrepid Pagan Book Hunter." 1. 95% of this book is about the life and times of Poggio in the 15th century and how he found the Lucretius poem - "On the Nature of Things." There is bit on the small amount actually known about Lucretius himself. 2. The last chapter is basically an epilogue that mentions various individuals who were aware of the poem and/or had copies. He seems to make a big deal of Thomas Jefferson having had five copies. 3. There is zero substantive evidence of how this particular poem had profound impact on key figures who actually did contribute to making the world modern: Galileo, Newton, Watt, Darwin, Einstein, Bohr, Lister, Keynes and many, many others. 4. He never defined what he means by "modern." The implication is that modern means abandoning the dogma of the Catholic church and embracing science. I am 100% in favor of abandoning dogma and embracing science, however, Lucretius' poem in not science. It is speculation and philosophy. He had no more tangible basis for his ideas, including atoms, (which Greenblatt harps on about endlessly) than the notion of the elements being earth, wind and fire. 5. To have actually delivered on the advertised topic of the book, he needed to have shown how modern scientific ideas developed, who developed these ideas (see very partial list in item 2 above) and what specific impact the Lucretius poem had on them compared to and contrasted with the plethora of other influencing factors. 6. The book is hugely inflated with barely relevant digressions and many irrelevant details. He constantly uses long lists of descriptors when a single word would be better; he includes lengthy quotes from individuals of no relevance to making the world modern; but far fewer direct quotes from "On the Nature of Things." If your passion is the hunt in the 15th century for writings from ancient Rome, this is the book for you. If you are actually interested in "How the World Became Modern," this book is an exasperating total waste of time.