‘This period has been poorly documented, and I think this makes Hannam’s account all the more extraordinary. It is engaging, informative and I heartily recommend it.’

Posted on 2010/10/19 , tagged as

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In advance of the annoucement of the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books on Thursday, various commentators have been having their say on the contending books.

The quote above is from The Great Beyond,  a blog from Nature magazine, on James Hannam’s God’s Philosophers, published by Icon and the favourite to win, according to William Hill.

‘Aquinas was made a saint, but others were punished by the church. One heretical thinker, Amaury of Bene, was not only forced to recant his beliefs but three years after his death was dug up and burned along with some of his unrelenting followers.’

‘Rich with such stories,’ the reviewer says ‘this book describes often short, dramatic lives while reminding us just how far society travelled in Europe between the time of the Norman conquest of England and the trial of Galileo.

Read the full piece here, and similar round-ups in the Telegraph and the Guardian.