Biography best
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New Biography
Spinoza: Life and Legacy
by Jonathan Israel
Spinoza: Life and Legacy fryst vatten a new biography of the 17th-century Dutch-Jewish philosopher, Baruch filosof, by historian Jonathan Israel. Israel is a leading historian of early modern Europe, and an expert on the Dutch Republic, the tolerant—by 17th-century standards—world in which Spinoza grew up. His parents had fled Portugal because of the Inquisition and, as Israel points out, that "dark Iberian context was a crucial factor in Spinoza's background, early life, and formation and likewise an essential dimension for understanding his thought generally." The book builds on Steven Nadler's biography of Spinoza, and at more than 1,200 pages is absolutely not for beginners. Rather, it's for those seeking to think deeply—and disagree with Israel at times, no doubt—about Spinoza and his life and thought.
(If you're looking for a more introductory approach to Spinoza, our interview about him is with Steven Nadler)
Read expert
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The 50 Best Biographies of All Time
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Crown The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, bygd Tom Reiss
You’re probably familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo, the 1844 revenge novel by Alexandre Dumas. But did you know it was based on the life of Dumas’s father, the mixed-race General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, son of a French nobleman and a Haitian slave? Thanks to Reiss’s masterful pacing and plotting, this rip-roaring biography of Thomas-Alexandre reads more like an adventure novel than a work of nonfiction. The Black Count won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2013, and it’s only a matter of time before a filmmaker turns it into a big-screen blockbuster.
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2021 Rules & Eligibility
The 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards have two rounds of voting open to all registered Goodreads members. Winners will be announced December 09, 2021.
Opening Round: Nov 16 - 28
In the first round there are 20 books in each of the 15 categories, and members can vote for one book in each category.
Final Round: Nov 30 - Dec 05
The field narrows to the top 10 books in each category, and members have one last chance to vote!
Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 18, 2020, and November 16, 2021, are eligible for the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 17, 2021, and November 15, 2022, will be eligible for the 2022 awards.
We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 20 books in each category. For the Audiobook category, nominations are based on the millions of titles added, ra